Dead Rising: Operation Avarice
by RiceCakesWithStyle
Summary: Set over a year after Dead Rising 3. All survivors of the Los Perdidos outbreak have been executed as suspected illegals. Though there have been claimants of an escaped few, this hasn't been confirmed. Meanwhile in another state in America, little does one small city know of what it's about to face...
1. Chapter 1: Not the Best Start

This was a time when a virus spread and a new species came to be. This was a time when the government turned their back on us and chose to cover rather than share. This was a time when the military were obedient as dogs and cared not what we thought. This was a time when these creatures were used as a punch bag or for plain entertainment. This was a time when we had to watch our backs, take anything to use as a weapon and kill friends, family, co-workers, anyone who was infected. This was a time when it was every man for himself and we slaughtered each other like animals.

We hope for a time where we will wade through the rubble of humanity and piece together a new civilisation. A civilisation where the infected are extinct, and people don't loathe each other no matter what race, religion, gender, or age they are. A era with no desperation or no craving for murder.

But that will never happen. Simply because we humans never change. Anything out of the ordinary, or something we're just not used to, we kill. It's in our nature, in our blood. Some may want to research it, but it still ends all the same. No matter what we say or do, we as human beings will never change.

But people like Frank West and Chuck Greene battle their way through the hoard to get, not pleasure or money, but something else. These two figures are well known today for surviving famous outbreaks around the country.

It was an autumn day in the mild month of September. A small city prospered with no zombies or infected, for now, and was famous for having no Zombrex. They were that arrogant about an outbreak not happening that they refused to produce it or let it be sold in the city. But all that was about to change.

A high school in the city was teaching students about what to do if they saw a zombie roaming round. Most were pretending to paying attention, some were just faffing about.

One girl was taking notes as the teacher spoke. She was freckled with long blonde hair in a ponytail, muddy brown eyes, and a grey short sleeved t-shirt with a Servbot outlined in black on it. She was usually a quiet girl, not speaking much unless told to, but she got picked on by another girl since she was named after a month.

During the lecture a gracious lady burst into the classroom abruptly and stopped the teacher in her tracks. Even the girl looked up surprised.

"Miss Freemore please." She said.

"Okay." The teacher turned to the girl. "Go on, April."

She got out of her seat and started walking off.

But another girl was giving her the evil eye. This girl's name was Goldy. Goldy didn't hate April with a passion, but she did bully her on some occasions. And this was one of them.

Goldy purposely stuck out her leg and tripped April over. She sniggered once she fell.

"Goldy Ashton! That is unacceptable behaviour!" The teacher went to help April up.

Goldy just kept chewing her gum. "So? Even if I do fail in school, I gotta fortune at home."

April just ignored her and left the classroom. Goldy was just a stupid cheerleader and she knew that.

The headmistress led her into a small room and sat her down in front of her desk. She took her seat behind it and looked at April for a long time.

"...So, Miss Freemore, I've been meaning to talk to you for a long time." She began.

"About what?"

"Your...incredible skills. You can identify the atomic number and mass of almost the whole periodic table of elements, you can write out long word equations much faster than anyone else, and you can also craft an array of weapons with some duct tape."

"Oh, I learnt that last one from Chuck Greene, Miss."

"Chuck Greene, you say?"

"Yeah. Me and my dad are huge fans of him. We tried to create a paddlesaw once, but it didn't go well."

"...Right. Well, anyway..." She leant forward. "What we've been considering... Is moving you to a new school, Miss Freemore."

"A-A new school?"

"A boarding school. Where they keep the top elite students in the country. It's a fair way from this city but your high intelligence has proven you worthy to enrol."

"...But... I won't see my father or mother again for a while, will I?"

"I don't think that will matter Miss Freemore. We already have all the paperwork sorted out, and you'll be moving their next spring. Your parents have been informed I can assure you."

"But I don't want to go to some posh boarding school. I want to stay here with my mom and dad."

"Am I imagining things?" She stood up straight and glared at her. "Miss Freemore, you are comparing family to education? They should never be compared since there will be a clear winner. Education is more important and everything else should be enjoyed afterwards."

"But only in small segments Miss. Education shouldn't be your entire focus. You should be able to enjoy family from time to time."

"Utter nonsense. But I suppose if it makes you happy..." She sunk back into her chair and her withered face became clearer in the secluded light from outside. "These plans will not change. You will be taking a science test today and a maths test next month, both higher paper. This will be leading up to your enrolment at the boarding school. Do you understand me?"

"...Yes, Miss."

"Good, very good. You may go now."

She bowed respectfully and headed to the door. She grasped the handle.

"Oh, and Miss Freemore."

April turned her head slightly. "Yeah?"

"I would highly suggest that you lay off that ridiculous weapon making with your father. It's very un-ladylike of you. I was highly disappointed when you told me about 'Chuck Greene' and that 'paddlesaw' you tried to make. If I hear anymore of it, you will receive five slaps to the face from me. Chuck Greene is just a sad pathetic dirt track on the road of perfection. He shouldn't be a role model, not even to you."

She usually rolled with it since she knew she could do nothing about it, the headmistress had more power than her. But she insulted Chuck Greene, April's long life idol. That alone made her blood boil. "And I would highly suggest that you go fuck yourself." She bluntly said. "Chuck Greene has more balls than you could ever have. He survived the Fortune City outbreak, and while there he searched endlessly for Zombrex for his daughter. And who cares about perfection? Not Chuck Greene, not Frank West, not even me. You can just take your 'perfection' and stick it up your ass." She stared daggers into her and left the office.

"Miss Freemore!" But the door slammed shut and she found herself alone.

After the talk with the headmistress, April walked out into the playground and leaned against a wall. No one actually played with her, but she didn't mind that. She had to be focused for the test that was coming up next. Goldy was gossiping with her fellow cheerleaders, possibly about April. One of the reasons that Goldy bullied April was because of her high intellect. Though April herself loved video games, specifically violent ones, and played them a lot of the time she still studied and paid attention during lessons. Which is why she was the only one taking the higher paper. She was a year younger than Goldy, which enraged the cheerleader even more.

A young boy with a hoodie came up to her. "Hey, April!" He greeted.

"Hi Ben."

Ben was one of her few friends. He wasn't gullible enough to believe the lies that Goldy came out with.

"You doing okay, leaning against the wall on your own like that?"

"Yeah. I'm used to being alone anyway."

Ben was a good looking boy, he occasionally was flirted with by Goldy, who had a natural crush on him. But Ben wasn't interested in her, in fact he didn't really like her.

"Better than hanging out with that tramp over there, huh?" His eyes moved to Goldy.

"Well... I guess she does have a crush on a few people.."

"Why the hell would she want to go out with me? She knows I'm not interested."

April quickly changed the subject. "How's the film project going?"

"It's going great. I think it will be a great tribute to Terror is Reality."

"My dad said that show was trash."

"It is to some people, but I personally loved it! I wish I could go back in time and take part in that show." He said. "Not the one that started the outbreak in Fortune City, man that was a bummer."

"My dad said that was TK's doing."

"The outbreak? No way, dude. Someone else blew up that cage, but not TK. Tyrone King was a cool dude, I wish he was still alive today."

If only he knew the true nature of TK, the show's host.

Everyone else went back to class, except April. She was secluded into a separate room where she would do her test. One teacher was at the front and explaining the basics to her. The room itself was pretty basic. Just a white room with one desk and chair for April. Boring, right?

"If you don't complete this test by the estimated time, then we'll find a period for you to do extra time on this paper. Okay?" He said.

"Okay." She gulped.

He laughed. "Don't worry Miss Freemore, you'll do fine. Your test begins... Now."

April turned over the page and started writing. Silence did it's magic and the only sound was that of the pencil on paper. She got stuck on a few questions but soon overcame them thanks to her brain.

The teacher was dragged outside for a moment and had a hushed conversation. April wasn't busy enough to not notice, so she tried to listen in.

"What...is it..?"

"One student...acting weirdly...bite on his..."

"Are you...not just nausea? Maybe...he's just sick?"

"No...pretty large bite...from...animal almost..."

"I have...student doing a test...restrain him...biting anyone else..."

"Yes sir."

He came back in and saw April staring at him.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"Oh...nothing. Just a student being sick, nothing you should be concerned about. Anyway, you should get on with your test."

She reluctantly carried on. But this small incident wouldn't go unnoticed for long. 30 minutes later the same woman came running back again and grabbed him.

"Mr Wooddocks! The student...he's...turned into something!"

The whispers were more loud this time.

"What do you...mean?"

"He's trying to kill everyone, and he walks around like a lifeless being!"

"Keep it down! We don't want the student in there to freak out!"

"You must come quickly, and help me pin him down!"

"Okay okay!" He peered round the door at April. "I'll be right back, I just have to sort something out." He left the door slightly open and ran off with the other teacher.

April was baffled. He didn't think she knew what was going on, but she did. "I need to tell dad."

She quickly turned on her phone and opened her contacts. She dialled her father's number and nervously waited for him to pick up.

"Come on... Come on..." She grinded her teeth.

The phone went silent and a gruff voice spoke to her. "Hello?"

"Dad!"

"Hey there sweetheart, how are you doing?"

"Dad, you won't believe this. Something is happening at my school!"

"What? You become class president or something?" He chuckled.

"No. I think one of my classmates has become a zombie."

He suddenly stopped the laughter and went silent. "...You sure?"

"Yeah. They said he was acting all weird just a moment ago."

"Did he have any bites on him?"

"He did, but I didn't hear where he was bitten." She paused. "And now they've just gone off to restrain him because he's apparently trying to kill other people."

He was silent once again. He muttered a swear under his breath. "...Okay here's the plan. You stay where you are, me and the guys are coming to get you."

"But I'm in the middle of a test!"

"I don't care what you're doing. They don't produce no Zombrex here. So if you get bitten, then that'll be the end of you. Just stay put. If any zombies try to bite you, use anything in the room to kill them."

"...Like my chair?"

"Yes, exactly like your chair."

She suddenly stiffened up and listened. Something was dragging it's way up the hallway.

"I'll call you back later, I think the teacher's coming back."

"Okay sweetheart. I'll tell the guys that your school has a little zombie problem. Take care now, I love you, bye." He hung up.

April put the phone in her pocket.

The thing was coming closer. She could hear it grunting and moaning. One thing was for sure, this most defiantly wasn't human.

"S-Sir...?" She called. When he didn't reply she tried again. "S-Sir, is that you..?"

The door was softly pushed open and a bloodied pale hand landed on the wall. April took a step back. The hand traveled further across the wall and seemed to drag an entire body with it. The bloodied figure revealed itself more and more as it dragged itself in. The face came last. A huge lump of flesh had been ripped out of his neck. He slowly turned his head towards April, and dark red blood seeped out of his mouth as he tried to smile.

She squeaked. "Oh my god..!"

He staggered towards her, with more blood dripping out of his mouth.

Her mind went blank in her panic stricken state. Nothing could be processed properly anymore. Her brain yelled at her to run, and her heart banged at her rib cage like a trapped scared captive. She backed away and looked at him with terror in her eyes. The zombie that was once her teacher closed in on her like a hornet. What could she do? Was there any way out of this?

But then she remembered.

'If any zombies try to bite you, use anything in the room to kill them.'

Her eyes locked onto the chair. She knew she couldn't waste anymore time. It was now or never. If she hesitated anymore then the zombie would bite her and it would be curtains on her life.

She ran, elbowing him out of the way, and grabbed the chair. She held it poised, ready to attack. The zombie cluelessly limped towards her, his sights only focused on her neck.

April charged at him and beat him with the chair. Blood splattered everywhere. Even when he was on the ground she kept beating him. The zombie's face became more deformed with each slam of the chair he received. She lifted the chair above her head to deliver a final blow and whacked his head, which caused the chair to break into a million splinters.

She let her arms fall by her sides and panted. Her face and shirt were dotted with red.

"I'm sorry Mr Wooddocks. But you turned, I had to kill you."

The corpse didn't breathe a word. It laid on the floor. Almost emotionless, with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

But April didn't have time to feel sorry. She checked her surroundings. "The whole school could be infected with the zombie virus. I need to get to a safe place and call my father."

April peaked outside the door. The hallway was dimly lit in a foreboding sense. She shook off her fears and walked down the hall. There was no zombies in the corridor so she felt a little safe. The whole big locker hallway was like a ghost town, complete silence with scattered papers on the floor. She found a broom closet and breathed a sigh of relief. But her attention was drawn to the door opposite of her, the gym. Some loud groans and moans erupted from inside. She couldn't ignore this. She crept to the door and peaked into the window.

"Just as I thought.."

A huge group of zombies were loitering around. Some were teachers, most were teenagers. Their arms loosely hung at their sides and their undead brains processed nothing but: 'kill'. They hadn't seen April yet, so they just walked around unable to remember who they were before.

April silently watched them. "Oh... I gotta take a photo of this.." She brought up her phone and snapped a photo. "Dad is without a doubt going to want to know about this."

She went into the broom closet and locked the door. Then brought out her phone and called her dad again.

"..Hello?"

"Dad, it's me."

"Hi again, sweetie. You found out anything else?"

"Yeah. Here, I think this photo will explain a lot." She sent him the photo.

"...My god.." He muttered after a long silence.

"It looks like most of the school is infected." She said. "I don't think it'll be a good idea to stay here and wait for you to come."

He grumbled to himself, but soon breathed a long sigh. "...Okay April, you're right. What I want you to do instead, is run. Run till you get home and then lock the door, barricade it if you need to. I'll explain the situation to your mother and tell her to expect you. Don't set a single foot outside that house till I get there with the guys okay?"

"But dad... Not everyone in the school got infected. There could be survivors!"

"They don't matter right now. What matters is your safety. For now, do as I say. We'll deal with the survivors later."

"But dad!"

"Later."

She knew she couldn't argue with him. In their house, whatever he said was law. "...Fine.."

"Good girl."

"...Hey dad. If I brush up on my photography and fighting, do you think I could become the next Frank West?"

He laughed a little. "Well if you did, you would have an extremely proud father."

She giggled and smiled. "...I love you dad."

"I love you too sweetheart." She could sense his smile at the other end. "I gotta go. You take care, and remember what I said."

"I will."

"Good. I'll see you later, goodbye." He hung up.

April put her phone back. "I know my dad means well..." As she said this she picked up a broom and some duct tape. "..But I'm not just going to sit around and wait."

She dashed to the kitchen a picked up a sharp blade. "Yes... This should do." She put all the three items on a table and started crafting. "I saw my dad do this once.." The knife pricked her finger and she yanked it away to suck the blood off. "He says he learnt it from Mr West, not that I've ever seen the man himself or anything." She stopped to wipe the sweat off her forehead. "I hope I get home soon. Mother must be worrying about me." She stepped back to admire her creation. "Yeah.. I think this will work." A broom with a kitchen knife taped on the end of it, it wasn't too powerful but she was still proud of it. "This will keep the zombies away till I get home. Alright... Let's go." She picked up her new weapon and was on her way.

Once outside, April saw just how bad this virus was. A whole village worth of zombies were meandering on the campus. Part of her wanted to run back inside, but that was snuffed out by her courage. She couldn't just box herself into an infected zone, she had to get home.

The zombies saw her and started staggering towards her. She took a deep breath and her muscles tensed up.

"One bite and I'm history... I can't let them bite me." She pointed the knife end at them. "Come on then, you undead bastards!" She impaled one of the them and yelped. But she sliced it until it was supposedly dead. "I've really got to get used to this... And maybe I could take a photo as more proof of this outbreak." She brought it out and snapped another photograph. The amount of zombies in it got her a lot of pp which was shortly transferred into the memory card in her phone. "...Man I really am turning into Frank West. Ah well... In my books, that's a good thing. Now... Let's deal with the rest of these zombies and get home!"

She sliced her way through the streets while veering her arms, legs and torso away from the zombie's infected jaws. One of the reasons her dad hated where they lived was because of the absence of Zombrex. The city had just ignored any what ifs and denied any use of the drug. Though they probably regret that now. It was overrun, and they could do nothing about it.

April pushed the many zombies out the way and stabbed them till she got home. The tall white house stood before her, squashed to the side by a whole block of similar looking houses.

She tried opening the door but found it locked. "Ahh, of course." She remembered her mum and rang the doorbell instead. She waited. The zombies were slowly cornering her. She rang again. Still no answer. "Come on... What's taking her so long?" She banged her fist on the doorbell. "Goddammit!" In her rage she kicked the door and suddenly saw how many zombies were behind her. "Oh crap, not good, not good!" She rang the bell numerous times but her mum still didn't come. "Where the hell is she!?" She tried kicking the door down and punching it, but it didn't budge one bit. She turned to the zombies again. "This is not good. Dad said she'd be in."

Suddenly her phone started ringing. She killed the zombies blocking her way and answered it as she went into a deserted alleyway.

"Hello?"

All she could hear was her dad cursing his head off. "Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!"

"Dad? Dad what's wrong?"

"It's your mother. Your mother has apparently left the city with some jackass in a car!"

"What!? But... Why!?"

"That's what I want to know.." He paused to dry his eyes. "I don't understand it, you were her favourite little girl. Why would she leave us like that?"

April could feel small tears in her eyes, and her voice shook as she tried to talk.

"Hey, don't cry. You may be on your own in there but you've still got your dad here to protect you." He said.

"But what am I going to do? Where do I go from here?"

"Calm yourself. Home isn't an option now, you need to fight back."

"Huh? Fight back? But how?"

"You're good with guns aren't you? I taught you how to use a pistol when you were 13 remember?"

"Yeah... Yeah I remember. You taught me in case of a zombie invasion like this."

"Well, now's the time to put those skills into real action kiddo. You know the weapon shop across the road of our home? Go into there and get a pistol. Get two if there's another of the same kind. Then, gear yourself up. That t-shirt alone isn't going to protect you from looters or other crazed survivors."

"But what should I put on?"

"Anything you find. Also, grab anything that you think will be a good melee weapon. You'll need it if the zombies decide to get up close and personal with you."

"Alright dad, I'll go do that. Have you talked to your friends from the military about the situation?"

"Yeah I talked to 'em. They're coming over now to rescue you and any other survivors they uncover. Oh, another thing I must ask, could you round up any survivors you find? Take them to a safe place and tell them that, in 5 days time, the military will be coming to evacuate the area."

"Where would I take them though? We don't have any safe houses here."

"I don't know. Any place you find that is secure and free of any of those undead freaks will do." Some loud voices called her dad's name on the other side of the line. "...I gotta go, they're loading me in. I'll call you from time to time to see how you're doing."

"Okay. Bye dad, I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart, bye." His voice disappeared and he hung up.

April studied her surroundings. This alleyway was quiet enough, but out in the streets was absolute havoc. Drivers were being pulled out of their cars and eaten alive, shops were forced to barricade their doors, houses were throwing out their infected loved ones, zombies were reaching for April from behind a steel fence.

"This can't get any worse right?" She muttered as she stared at the zombies.

But sure enough, it did.

A loud bang pierced April's ears and she was forced to take cover under the dustbin. Zombies went flying in the air and the sound of fire crackling hovered in the fog. Some debris tumbled down and covered her hair in dust and rubble. When the shock had faded, she lifted her head from her hands and slowly stood up.

"What the hell was that?" She looked around the corner for the cause. "...Oh shit!" She yelled.

A whole half of her school had been blown to smithereens. The gym was completely open and the zombies piled out into the world. But that wasn't the only bad thing. The only way out of town was right next to the school. A huge pile of rubble blocked the road, along with masses of zombies. There was no way out now.

April started shaking, she was going into a state of panic. "Oh no... Oh no... No no no..." She walked around holding her head. "The road's blocked, we're trapped..." She tried breathing in and out to calm herself down. "Keep it together April... Keep it together... What did your dad say to you? He said... He said...go to the weapons shop and get a pistol...or two... And then...then gear yourself up... Okay...okay..." She clapped her hands together and breathed. "I have a plan.. I'm going to get myself equipped and then look for survivors..." She took one last look at the zombies and then ran for the weapons shop, with her broom weapon still in hand.

It was good timing when she got there too. Her broom broke in half and shattered into splinters, much like the chair. She scrambled away from the hoard as fast as she could. A zombie grabbed her hair and yanked her back. April screamed and stabbed it in the eye with her knife before it could bite her. She left it in and sprinted to the weapons shop before anymore could surround her.

She pushed crates in front of the door and breathed. As she did this she gently took her hair in one hand. "I really need to cut this... Maybe there's some scissors around here." As she said this she suddenly spotted the owner of the store in his chair, with some scissors impaled in his chest. "Ah!" He had obviously been dead for some time, since the smell reached her nose quickly. "Oh, that's just nasty!" She coughed and held her nose. "Absolutely disgusting.." She tried to ignore the smell and reached for the scissors. "Oh... This is so gross..."

Her weak pull did nothing to wedge the scissors out of his chest, and it got weaker as she continued to cough and splutter.

A hand went over hers and grabbed the metal. "Need some help there?" It asked.

April couldn't see him properly because of how dark it was behind him. She could only see his white shirt and black jacket. "Oh...uhh, sure. I could use some."

Together they pulled them out and the stranger gave them to her. The smell completely dominated the store and made April cough even more. The strange man sprayed the store with something and made it feel a lot fresher.

April dried her eyes. "Thank you sir."

"Your welcome." He simply said.

With no hesitation April went to find a sink and mirror. The man followed her, with his camera hanging round his neck swaying back and forth.

"Might I ask what you're doing here?" He continued walking.

"Just cutting my hair and getting some weapons." She replied. "My dad says he's going to come get me with the military, along with any other survivors I find."

The man swallowed. "...Neat. I'm guessing your father works in the military?"

"Yes that's right, why?"

"No reason."

She finally found a bathroom. The man could been seen almost clearly now. He had black hair which was starting to go grey and some sunglasses over his eyes.

"..You're not going to follow me in here are you?"

"Who, me? Course not. I'm not a pervert."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay then, I'll be out in a minute." With that, she went in and closed the door.

He held onto his camera and looked through all the photos on it, chuckling to himself at some of the snaps.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing much. Just looking at some memories."

Some running water splashed on the sink. April hummed away to herself as she washed the scissors.

"Are you any good with guns?"

She stopped. "Me? Yeah, my dad taught me to use a pistol at 13."

"Seems reasonable. I mean this town was a bit arrogant wasn't it?"

"You can say that again..." She paused and gulped. "I wish I could have been at the Willamette or Fortune City outbreak."

This made the man stop what he was doing completely and turn to the door. "What?"

"I wish I was a part of one of those outbreaks."

"Why..? Don't you know what it did to innocent people?"

"I do. But then... I could of had the chance to meet Frank West, or Chuck Greene..."

"You want to meet one of the famous zombie killers huh?"

"I don't know what Frank West looks like. My dad talks about both of them non stop, especially Chuck Greene. If I could just meet one of them, or both, then I would be over the moon." She snipped through her ponytail and let it fall to the ground. Her bright blonde hair gracefully floated down and hung just above her shoulders.

"...are you done in there?"

"Yeah, I'm done."

She came out with her short hair dangling above her shoulders.

The man with the camera looked her up and down. "You look fine. At least those zombies won't be able to pull you back by your hair." He walked back into the main shop. "Come on, I can help you."

The young girl eagerly followed.

He took a rifle into his hand and aimed it. "Usually, my primary weapon of choice is a bat. But I'm good with guns too." The shop keeper, now zombified, rose from his seat. But was shortly put down by the man as he fired his rifle at him. "Since your primary weapon is going to be pistols, you're going to need a secondary weapon too."

"A secondary weapon?"

"You can't just shoot them down when they grapple you, kid. You need to have something to fend them off, other than bullets." He saw that the zombie shop owner was still not dead. "Consider this a free lesson. You've just used your last bullet and it's still not dead. What are you going to do?"

She remembered what her father said and looked round for a chair, or any other item.

"Okay, you've got the right idea: look around for something to use. But you're going to need to be a bit faster than that. This zombie isn't going to take all day, it's getting to you one way or another. You're going to have to make this a reflex for when you're dry of bullets. Look for something and grab it. It won't matter what it is...unless it's a handbag."

Her eyes locked onto the cash register. It was risky since it was near that, but the hunk of metal looked strong enough to take it out. She ran towards it, grabbed it and smashed the zombie's head with it. She slowly backed away with it still in hand. "I-Is it dead?"

The man checked it quickly. "I think it might be.."

She breathed. "Man, even though it was a lesson it still made my heart pound."

"That's something I've had to get used to for years." He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Don't fret, kid, you'll soon learn to cope with it and forget your fears." He smiled a little bit and then stood back. "Now you can just take your pick. It doesn't matter how much it is, it's not like zombies are gonna need money.."

She looked over the pistols carefully. Whichever one she chose would be her weapon that would help her battle the siege of undead.

The windows behind them cracked. The man took a brief look at the zombies outside trying to get in but said nothing.

April finally chose her two pistols and brought them down from the shelf. She loaded them up and then turned to the man. "Oh god, they're breaking in!" She gasped, pointing at the window.

"Keep calm, the worst thing you can do in this situation is panic." He got out a spiked bat. "You get changed, that t-shirt and jeans on their own won't protect you. I'll try to keep them back if they get in."

"Are you sure you'll be able to handle it? I mean, that's a lot of zombies dude..."

He gave her a reassuring smile. "Relax, lady. I've covered wars, ya know."

"...I swear I've heard that quote somewhere before..." She remembered the situation and snapped out of it. "Alright, you keep them busy while I get some gear on." She ran to the armour part of the shop.

The man watched her go and then smiled at the zombies. "You want to mess with a freelance? Well then, come on.." The cracks on the window expanded. "I've been doing this for years, this shouldn't be any different. The only difference here is that I'm with a teenager, a brave one too.. Now that is a surprise." The glass shattered to pieces and allowed the undead zombies access into the weapons store. "That's my cue." He didn't hesitate and lunged at them.

It had been a long time since he purged zombies from the face of the earth. So he felt quite happy that he was doing it once again, not because he thought it was good to kill zombies, he did it to protect the girl and hopefully get to the truth. There was always some truth hidden in an outbreak, it just took someone with determination to find it.

He found himself in a tight spot with a zombie grappling him. He didn't much care whether he got bitten or not, he was already infected. He was bracing himself for the zombie to sink it's teeth into his skin when he heard a gunshot. The zombie fell to the ground with a hole in it's head. He turned round to see April in an all black fedora with a matching colour long coat which went down to her ankles. The coat was partially open, still showing the Servbot t-shirt. Her retro sneakers were replaced with brown leather boots.

She clicked her two new loaded pistols. "You wanna party?" She then aimed both guns at the hoard and lowered her gaze. "Then let's rock and roll."

April jumped onto the counter and shot down all of the zombies with no trouble, while the man below took out any ones that weren't properly dead yet. An array of bullets went straight through the zombies and killed them instantly. April then leaped down onto the floor to get into the heart of the action. She performed some dodge rolls that her father taught her and managed to shoot a few in the head. After a long while of battling April started getting tired and let her guard down for a zombie to tackle her. Her guns were knocked out of her hands. She pried the zombie's sharp jaws away from her neck, but it would only work for so long. It was about to bite her when it was suddenly knocked on the head and pulled away from her. The man held it for April to shoot. To which she picked up her guns and performed a shot straight to it's head. He threw it onto the floor and breathed a sigh.

The whole building had been cleaned out of zombies. This place was safe, for now.

"I can't lead survivors here. The windows are wide open for a zombie attack..." April said to herself.

The man beckoned April over to the window and pointed. "Why not try that church over there then?"

The big cathedral was stone grey with dazzling stain glass windows and an iron bell that hung forebodingly in the tower. It was in a desolate field of emerald grass, absolutely free of zombies.

"That could be an idea..." She pondered. "Doesn't look like it's full of infected. And it's a fair way from the main city..."

The man looked at his watch quickly and then put it away. "Sorry, I didn't ask, what's your name lady?"

She met his eyes. "I'm April, April Freemore."

He shook hands with her. "Nice to meet you April. I'm sorry, but I gotta scoot now. You take care of yourself okay?" He started walking away.

"Now hold on a minute!" He stopped. "I've told you my name, now it's your turn! What's your name, sir?"

She heard him laugh quietly. "...Tell you what. You got a piece of paper?"

"Yeah." She fished out her notebook.

"Give it here and I'll sign my name on there instead. Sound good?"

She was puzzled by the odd request, but her curiosity overtook her. "Okay... Fine." She gave him the notebook.

He turned his back to her and started scribbling his name down. Why didn't he want to say it out loud? Why write it down? She was still trying to figure it out herself.

"Okay, done." He gave it back to her. "Little advice: Aim for the head." He winked at her. "I'll see you round."

As he walked off, April read the name he had written on the paper. And her mouth dropped open.

"No way..."

There, in clear writing, was the name 'Frank West'.

"..D-Did I really just..." She looked at the man leaving in surprise. "W-Was that..."

She remembered something her dad told her.

'Frank West was the greatest journalist that ever lived. He survived Willamette, and wants nothing but the truth. Those others just make up phoney lies because they're afraid of the government. But you know what Frank West does? He goes: 'to hell with the government! People need to know the truth!' That's why I respect him, sweetheart.'

She put her guns in her pocket and ran after him. "Wait! Mr West, wait!" But once she got out there the man had vanished into thin air, all she could see was zombies. "What the hell...? Where'd he go?" There was no sign of him round the corner of the street or anything. She looked back into the notebook at the signature she got. "I just met Frank West... I met THE Frank West... Oh man, I am going to treasure this page... My dad is not going to believe me at first, but when I show him this... I think he will." She put safely into her pocket. Now she defiantly wasn't going to throw this away like she intended, not when there was the signature of a famous zombie killer in there. "..What if... I met Chuck Greene after this..?" But she confiscated the thought immediately. "Nah, that's almost impossible. And anyway, I have to survive this outbreak if I ever want to meet him. Which reminds me..." She got out her pistols, quickly rolling them in with her hands before steadily aiming them. "I think I'm just about set to kill and survive, I just need a melee weapon." Looking around at all the objects on the floor she smiled to herself. "Use anything you can... Yeah...sounds about right."

She stared into the eyes of these poor souls. They looked empty and terrifying, but she wasn't even afraid of them anymore. She had the weapons and skills to fight back, god knows how much time it would be before her father arrived with the military in tow. But she swore to stay alive until they got here. If she died, her father would go insane. She was all he had now, a precious daughter inside the quarantine zone.

April picked up a lone Bowie Knife and crept towards the zombies, knowing that in here it was kill or be killed.

 **End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2: Survivor's Trust

Time until the military arrives: 120 hours, 56 minutes and 45 seconds.

April forced her way through the square. Slashing them with the Bowie Knife, shooting them, and even putting a traffic cone on one of their heads. It wasn't long until she found a potential survivor.

On the lamp post beside a house was an old ruined poster. Some of the writing was still readable. The rest, including the face, had been scratched out. April did her best to read it.

'MISSING. ...man...-24...black hair...neck...contact...found...5 million...reward...'

"The hell's this crap?" She read it over again. "I can't do anything with this..." She sighed and rolled up the poster and threw it away. "A man with black hair though... He could still be alive, depending on when that poster was put up."

A zombie was walking towards the store in front of her. April spotted it immediately, took it's head and landed on the floor, crushing it's face in the process.

She brushed her two hands together and looked down in triumph. "It's great that dad taught me some of Mr West's moves. 'Face Crusher', sweet name!" She walked off carrying her two guns by her side.

Time until the military arrives: 119 hours, 45 minutes and 13 seconds.

The young girl was now in a deserted cafe in search of some leftover coffee or orange juice. She found a cappuccino instead and instantly parked herself to drink it.

"Mmm. This is the only good thing about an outbreak." She remarked and put the cup down. An undead waitress clawed onto the leather sofa and tried to bite her arm. April, without turning her head, took out her pistol and shot it in the forehead. It slumped onto the sofa, to which April gently pushed it off onto the floor. "In an outbreak, there's no one to charge you for whatever you take, eat or drink. It's a gift and a curse." She looked outside the thick windows. "That means there could be looters all round the city, taking whatever the hell they want." Both her and her dad shared the same views on looters. Disgraceful, vile, dishonest, backstabbing parasites. They were only out for themselves and would rather mug a survivor than help them. "Hopefully I won't run into too many of them, or psychopaths." She sipped her coffee, it calmed her in some sense, while she watched the outside world tear itself apart around her. She was surrounded by dead bodies, but she couldn't care less.

Time until the military arrives: 119 hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds.

April walked around the town for a little longer, hoping to find some survivors. She came across an empty plaza filled with zombie corpses. Bloodied tyre tracks covered the yellow bricks.

"Someone's been here..." She whispered. "If I were to take a guess, it was a bike gang of looters."

The sound of an engine revving polluted the air. Tyres squealed round the corner and two bikers with flaming whiskey bottles appeared. They lobbed them straight at her, to which she quickly rolled away to the other side. Other bikers drove in and circled her like sharks. Each of them looked much older than her, some in their 20s and others in their 30s. They sniggered as they studied their victim.

A tall bulky man on a jet black motorcycle pulled up and stepped off the vehicle. His skin was olive and he had blonde hair with faint blue highlights. A young lady was tied up on his motorcycle.

"And what are you doing out here, missy?" He asked her, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

April's first approach would have been to ignore them and walk away, but since she was barricaded in by motorcycles and there was a survivor to rescue, that was not an option. She tried to act calm and lowered her gaze on them. "Just passing through."

"Just passing through, eh?" He chuckled. "Well, me and you have got some time to kill. So how about you come ride with me and the boys, huh?"

The motorists all giggled together.

"...No thank you." April answered and tried to walk past him.

But the man pushed her back into the circle. "Would you like to rephrase that? I'm not one to take no for an answer missy, so either get on my bike or I'll kick your sorry ass." He smiled to show off his golden teeth. "We all know who's the king here. And everyone has to obey the king."

"Oh yeah? What are you the king of then?"

He raised his hands in the air. "This town missy. I'm the king of this sorry little town right here. And these are my subjects. You're one of them, and that means you're under my command." He gestured to the seat on his bike. "Now get on missy, before I have to make you submit."

"No." She said slowly.

The man just simply smiled slightly and nodded at his gang. They all got off their bikes carrying bats and walked round April. "My boys here could mess up your face so badly that you'd need a plastic surgeon to put it all back together. Right boys?"

They murmured in agreement while still glaring at April. "So why don't you just obey me, sugar? We could avoid this whole messy business if you just got onto my bike."

Each bat had some bent nails attached them. The shiny metal made her sweat slightly but she still kept her cool. "No." She said again. "Your threats won't daunt me into submission."

The leader just shook his heavy head. "Didn't want to have to do this to you, you looked like such a pretty gem, but I must punish those who betray me." He looked at the others. "Go get her boys."

They closed in like dangerous hornets with their bats raised above their heads. But April knew better than to stand around and wait for them to attack. She slowly got out her pistols and quickly shot one of them in the head. This made the other members back away from her quickly. April was taking no prisoners. She shot each one down like a dog. They died instantly, feeling no pain.

"Watch out boys! The chick has some guns!" But he was silenced instantly by a bullet to his head.

Some raced at her with their bikes. But she either shot them before they could get to her or jumped out the way. A few of them run away terrified at the thought of dying. One tripped on his bike and laid at the feet of April.

She aimed her gun at his face. "Get the hell out of here now, or this will be the last place you see in your lifetime."

He did so, and ran for his life.

"Very good... Very good."

She turned round to see the leader holding the woman, now untied, hostage. He pointed a knife at her throat.

"If you shoot me, this girl will be joining me in the afterlife." He dug the knife into her skin. "Wouldn't want to harm innocent people now would we?"

"Let her go now, you've gone way too far!"

"Not until you do as I say.."

April instead picked up a spray can from the ground and sprayed it in his eyes. He yelled in pain and cursed at April, releasing the woman in the process.

"Go! Go to the church, it's safe there!" She whispered loudly.

The woman thanked her and then ran off.

"...You...you little bitch!" The leader screamed with red eyes. "I'll make you pay for that!" He lunged at her.

April shot him. But his fast movements made it difficult to hit his head. Soon enough he tackled her to the floor and started beating her up. April wasn't good with fist to fist combat, she largely relied on guns and other objects to determine her safety. She tried to punch him back but her face was so numbed by the pain that she was close to blacking out. He stopped hitting her and stood up. He said something but April couldn't quite hear what it was. He brought his foot above her face. This would have been it, her last moments in life. She tried, she tried to make it out of there, but it just didn't work. She was ready to say her final farewell.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" A distant voice shouted.

As luck would have it, another male interfered. He came into April's view and started wrestling the leader with his bare hands. She couldn't really see him but judging by his voice he was in his 20s. The two struggled against each other for sometime, till the other man got out what seemed to be a traffic light weapon, that sent out electric shocks to the victim. The leader was electrocuted and fell out of view. The man then got out an assault rifle and took one shot. Then he took another, and another. She didn't know what was going on at all, but seemed that she was saved.

"Don't you ever come back!" He shouted. The mysterious hero looked in the distance for a second and then turned to April. He kneeled closer to her and his facial features became more clear. "Holy shit... Are you okay?" He had short black hair and some blood on his face and sleeveless denim jacket.

April tried to reply, but her jaw hurt when she tried to talk.

The man looked sadly at her. "I think I'd better take you back." He picked her off the ground and started carrying her.

The last thing April saw before she blacked out was the number 12 tattooed on the man's neck.

Time until the military arrives: 116 hours, 32 minutes and 2 seconds.

"...we will be bringing you updates on this report later on in the day. But for now, here's the weather."

April fluttered her eyes open tiredly. What greeted her first was a dimly lit ceiling. She sat up slowly and looked around. The TV was on and displaying the weather for the rest of the week. She appeared to be on a fuzzy blue sofa with a small coffee table in front of her. Looking to her left she saw a man sitting next to her, a man she didn't know. It was the man who had saved her earlier, she would have thanked him, but April was always cautious of strangers. She picked up her guns and aimed them straight at him.

He heard the clicking and briefly looked at them before backing away with his hands up.

"Woah, take it easy!" He said in surprise.

"Who are you? Why have you brought me here?" She demanded, keeping the guns aimed at him.

The man gulped. His brown eyes were wide with terror. "L-Look. Why don't we just calm down man? Maybe we can talk this out."

"How about you answer my questions first?"

"Look, man, j-just put the guns down and I'll explain everything, okay?" When she didn't respond he spoke more calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you, put the guns down and I'll tell you what I know."

A long silence spread across the room, with only the sound of the TV in the background. Still keeping her eyes on him, April slowly slid one of her pistols onto the table, but still kept the other aimed at him.

"I promise you, I'm not here to hurt you. I've got nothing on me." He spun himself around with his arms in the air to prove it. "Put the other one down, and maybe we could help each other."

She stared icicles into him, but still complied and pushed the other gun onto the table with the first gun.

The man breathed as if he'd just escaped a death trap. "Oh my god dude, you had me so scared for a second there."

She sat down without saying a single word and the man sat next to her.

He cleared his throat which made her look at him. Her eyes stuck to his jacket and she read the name on it.

"I'm Nick." He said as she read it. "Nick Ramos." He extended his hand to her with a friendly smile.

A hesitant silence hung over her. "..April Freemore." She grabbed his hand and shook it. His smile made her feel like she could trust him.

"You want a drink?" He offered her, holding up a carton of orange juice and a plastic cup. "It's still in date."

"Uhh, yeah okay." She held the cup while he poured it in. "Thanks."

"That's okay."

She took a swig of the juice. Her taste buds were revived by the sweet liquid, and it felt cooly refreshing as it traveled down her throat. "Phew, I needed that."

"Can't say I blame you. I'd probably want a drink too after trying to take down a gang."

"So, Nick, why did you bring me here?"

"Well, I saw you passed out with that big guy looming over you. And because you were just a small girl faced against a full grown man, I knew I had to do something. So I scared him off and then brought you here. Just somewhere I'm hiding out, nothing special, but I got the TV working." He explained.

She studied his jacket carefully. "Are you a mechanic?"

"Yeah. I'm not a really famous one or anything, but I can still get the job done." He said. "..April. Do your parents know where you are?"

"My dad does. But he's coming to get me and other survivors with the military."

"What about your mom?"

April felt some tears prick her eyes. "My mom... My mom left with another man at the start of the outbreak. She abandoned me and my dad..." She sniffed. "I thought she cared about me. But I guess she cared for a man I don't know more."

"Oh... Sorry I asked, April..."

"No no, it's okay. It feels nice to share your feelings with someone else.." She paused to sniffle and wipe her eyes. "What about you Nick? Where are your parents?"

"I don't have any. I'm an orphan.." He replied.

"Oh. Did they abandon you at birth?"

"Must have done. I don't have any recollection of them being in my life." He patted her shoulder. "You're lucky that you've got parents you can remember. Sorry about your mom though..."

"Like I said before, it's okay." She smiled warmly towards him.

He smiled back at her. "So, uhh, are you a local here?"

"Oh yeah, I live here with my dad."

He suddenly looked very happy. "Great! Oh dude, you don't know how much this means to me!"

"...uhh...what..?"

"Okay, so here's the thing. I've come here because someone I love dearly needs some Zombrex-"

"We don't produce any here..."

"I know that, well, I know that now anyway. I came in here for supplies and then I heard a loud bang from outside. As I go out to see what it is I find myself caught in another zombie outbreak, with no way to get out of the city." He brought out a map. "Since you're a local, I thought you might know these places better than I do." Nick then brought out a walkie talkie. "If you got the right blueprints I could make something to bust down that pile of rubble. But we're going to need more survivors to help us build it. Take this, we'll be able to communicate with each other this way."

She took it and looked at the piece of tech in surprise. In truth, April had never seen a walkie talkie before. Which was pretty ironic since her father worked with the military.

"I'll let you know if I see any survivors you could save."

"But... How are you going to do that? You can't see much of town from this room."

He stood up and walked towards the stairs, beckoning her. "Come on, I'll show you."

He led her up the stairs and to the rooftop, where black smog was hovering overhead and the fires of the school weren't even close to dying out.

"This brings back memories of Los Perdidos.." He muttered.

"Los Perdidos? You mean that city where no survivors were found?"

"That's what they want you to think. But I'm one of the survivors who luckily escaped before the fire bombing."

"What? But... They said..."

"They have a natural ability to lie to you like that. I didn't believe it at first, but when I saw it with my own eyes..." His thoughts were in deep sadness as he remembered the events that occurred in that city. "...Anyway. That was then, this is now." He lifted his head up. "Come on, it's over here."

She wasn't really sure what Nick wanted to show her, until she saw the telescope perched near the edge of the building.

"This is what I'll be using to help you with finding survivors."

She looked into it and found the lens incredibly focused. She could see the zombies below right up to their facial features and bite marks.

"I found it here, and made a few adjustments to it." He explained. "You should be able to see the whole town, since behind us is just mountains."

"So you'll be able to see where I'm going with this? And also survivors?"

"Yep. If I see any humans out there or, hell, even ones being taken hostage, I'll let you know through my walkie talkie."

She nodded. "Okay, got it. Thanks Nick."

He smiled at her again. Nick had one of those smiles that really made you think he was just a kind person looking for a way out. There was no sign of hatred, greed, or psychopathy in his beaming face.

He looked over the edge at the zombies below. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. His whole body took on a new feeling of terror, as if his personal worst nightmare had just been released.

"Nick? What's-"

"April, get down!" He pushed her onto the ground and laid with her as a loud boom exploded in their ears. The dust and debris hit the floor like pounding rain and covered the roads in a pale yellow dust. The building they were on were unaffected, but below was complete anarchy. Fire erupted from below them, as did more black smoke.

Nick still had his face planted in the ground. He looked up at the sky and saw the black smog rising to the heavens.

"April, are you okay?" He gently lifted her from the ground.

"Yeah I'm fine..." She groaned. "What the hell was that?"

"I don't know..." Nick answered. "Sounded like an explosion, similar to one from the school."

April clutched onto Nick, having not recovered from the shock, and limped to the side of the rooftop to look down.

"...Look! April, over there!" He pointed towards a blown up hardware store. Nails were scattered everywhere and sawdust covered the roads and pavements.

"Someone blew up Nails n' Screws!" She cried. "Oh man... I had so many memories there.. Me and my dad used to walk up to get some nails for my treehouse."

"First the school, and now a hardware store? Who are these people and why are they bombing shit!?" He paced round the roof in a huff.

She held his shoulders. "Nick, calm down. You're not going to do a thing by just being angry at them." She said softly.

"..." He shook off his anger and looked her in the eyes. "..okay... You're right, being angry at them won't change them overnight. Jeez, and I'm supposed to be the calm one..."

She turned her gaze to the zombies once more. "I think I'd better get out there. Let me know if you see anyone in need of help."

"Okay. But just two things before you go. One: try and train yourself up a bit more. That biker guy nearly killed you, and next time I might not be there to save you. Try and work on strengthening your bare fists and using whatever you can see. Two: if you come across a psychopath and feel that one isn't enough to take them down, you can ask me to come meet you somewhere and we'll face them together."

"Do you have any weapons, other than that assault rifle and that traffic light thingy you used?"

"I've made some damn good weapons in the past. Most of them helped me get through Los Perdidos with my friends. If you find any blueprints, give them to me and could make some weapons for you to use."

"Alright, I'll keep my eyes peeled." She stopped at the door. "I guess I'll see you later Nick."

"Remember to let me know if you need any help. Location, time, or even if you've forgotten what you're doing, I'll remind you."

"Thanks Nick."

"No problem." He replied happily.

As she turned to go she suddenly saw that number on his neck again. 12 was tattooed on the right side of his neck in clear black letters. She stared at it in awe. What did it mean? Why was it there? Did it signify anything?

"April? Something wrong?" Nick asked with a concerned look.

She snapped out of her daze. "Oh... Uhh... It's nothing, I'm just thinking. Anyway, I should probably go now."

"Okay. Take care of yourself."

"I will, bye Nick." She went through and shut the door behind her.

After she went Nick slowly turned round and looked in utter depression at the rubble blocking the way out.

"Annie must be worried sick about me..." He stroked the 12 on his neck. "And I think April saw the tattoo... Shit..." He whispered softly. "Please Annie... Just wait for me... I'll be out soon..." The zombies below him made him even more sad. "Here we go again, Nick.."

April eventually figured out that she was in Sains Co. A tall office building with a powerful company inside. She never found out anything about them, her dad only warned her to stay away from them, for reasons she never understood.

As she was traveling down the grey boring steps a crackling sound erupted from her walkie talkie, followed by a familiar voice. She picked it up and held it close to her face.

"Testing, 1, 2, 3... April, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Oh phew... I thought I might have to reconnect the wires or something." He stopped talking for a minute. "..Anyway. I've found your first survivor."

"Really? Right now?" She was only on the 3rd story and already she had a task at hand.

"I just saw this little girl being dragged into a toy shop by an older man." He said. "The man looked about in his 40s, and was wielding a needle covered in blood."

"Wait... Was he wearing a white apron with a heart sewn on?"

"I-I think so, yeah."

She gasped in realisation. "That's Mr Williams! The owner of Button's On! Why would he drag a young girl into his store...? Last I saw he was doing okay."

"An outbreak can bend the minds of many sane people... I've seen it for myself." He could sense her frown from the other side. "...Hey. If you want some support, you can tell me and we'll meet up somewhere."

"I think I'll observe him first and decide from there."

"Okay, whatever you say April. Call me again if you want support or if you've saved the tyke." Some crackling cut him off.

She continued her way down. "...For first impressions, Nick is quite a nice guy... But I can't base him off just that. My dad always nagged me about that... 'Never base the whole person off their first impression. If you take time to get to know them, you might uncover something more, or maybe even a completely different side to them.' That's what he always said... Maybe there's a different side to Nick.. I mean, he has experienced an outbreak before, so he knows the gist. But that number... Why is it on his neck? I just...feel like I've seen someone with something similar tattooed on their neck..." She quickly pushed it out of her mind. "No, I have to stay focused. I need to rescue this girl first, everything else can be tossed aside for a little while." Though, for some reason, she couldn't get Nick out of her head, she carried on down the stairs. Unaware of what she was about to face.

She shot her way through the zombies and threw whatever she could find at them, even a handbag. They were even more horrifying close up. They're faces had be torn and their skin was grey and lifeless.

The walkie talkie started coming to life again.

"Another call from Nick?" She grabbed the device.

"...April? You there?"

"Yeah I'm here." She pressed the tip of the gun against the zombie's head and pulled the trigger.

"Right, uhhh, I get a strong feeling that I'm going to have to come down and help you."

"Why?"

"Well... I saw the Mr Williams guy again and... He just... Tossed some eyeballs into the trash can near his store..."

April nearly gagged. "W-What?!"

"I'm not kidding man. I saw him carrying some real eyeballs and throw them into the trash. Made me want to throw up."

She froze up completely. Had Mr Williams actually gone insane? Her lifelong friend whom she visited to buy his dolls and have nice chats with since she was young? "A-Are you sure it was him?"

"I'm sure, he had the heart sewn on his apron and everything."

She could barely talk. The shock made her heart thump and her throat dry. She couldn't kill her friend, could she?

"Hey, hey, April, calm down. Just breathe. In and out, in and out." He told her. "You can't panic in this type of situation, trust me man it never ends good."

"But Mr Williams couldn't have gone insane... I thought he was just getting by with the antidepressants."

"He's depressed?"

"Yeah. His son died about a couple of months ago from drowning, and he considers it his fault. His daughter is all he has left now. He wouldn't go insane unless..."

Nick read her mind. "You think maybe his daughter's died too?"

"It's a possibility. I think the outbreak would be responsible for her death."

"...why does stuff like this have to happen? Zombie outbreaks... People losing their loved ones and minds... It's like the whole world has gone mad."

"Don't lose hope Nick. Remember, there could be others out there, sane ones."

"Yeah, you're right..." He went quiet and April could hear him shakily breathing.

"Nick? What's up?"

"...Nothing...nothing. I'm just... I'm just experiencing some memories.." He sniffed. "Don't worry about me, I'll be okay."

"Alright..." She was nearing the toy shop. "I'm getting close to the store."

"Right okay. If you need my help, call me and I'll come straight down okay?"

"Okay. See you on the other side." She put it in her pocket and marched forward. "Mr Williams... What's up with you?" She clenched the door handle tightly but soon pushed it open and went into the darkness.

The cloudy day from the windows was her only light. Looking around gave her a sense of nostalgia. There was the doll house she always used to play with when she came here after school, there was the china brown haired dolly whom April and Jane called Sally, there was the teddy bear who Jane claimed to be alive and walking round at night, there was the tooth fairy decoration Mr Williams hung up in memory of his wife, and there, behind the counter, was an array of once alive little girls styled to be dolls. Their eyes had been replaced with buttons and their mouths were sewn forcefully into a smile. They were as pale as snow and their dead bodies were cold to the touch.

April jumped when she spotted them. "Oh my god!" She yelped. "What the hell!? Did Mr Williams do this...?"

Some scuffling came from the storage room. A man was humming away to himself while moving something. He dragged it across a stone cold floor and into the main shop. When he finally came into the light April saw both him and what he was carrying. It was indeed Mr Williams. And in his hands was a young girl dolled up like the others, except the blood was more present since she had been killed just recently.

He looked at April briefly and then walked towards the counter with the 'doll' under his arm. But he stopped halfway and looked at her again. "...April Freemore? Is that you?"

"Y-Yes, it's me." She shakily said.

"Oh April!" He tried to hug her but she moved away from his open arms. "I've missed you so much kid. How have you been? Are you getting good grades?"

"Yeah, yeah I am. Uhh..." She looked in disturbance at the dead girl. "What is that you have there, Mr Williams?"

"Oh, this? It's one of my dolls. I'm making a whole collection for when Jane comes home. You remember Jane, don't you?"

"Yeah I remember..."

"You and her were the best of friends." He perched the girl on a chair and stepped back to admire his creation. "Perfect. Just needs one more, and then it will be complete." He turned round and looked at April for a long time. "...You."

April was in a daze disturbed by the dolls everywhere. "..What?"

"You. You could be the last in the collection. The most beautiful of all the dolls!"

"H-Huh!? Me, a doll?! Mr Williams... I don't think that's such a good idea.." She remembered Nick telling her about the eyeballs as she stared helplessly at the button eyes dolls.

"Oh don't worry. I understand that becoming a doll can be a pain, having to sit around all day. But I promise you..." He picked up his blood stained needle. "...it won't hurt for you. Oh no, I'll make it as painless as possible. Now, just come into the back room with me, and we can get started." He grinned widely at her. "You'll look great with brown buttons."

April backed away slowly, hovering her hands over her pockets.

Psychopath BOSS: Ned Williams.

She pulled out her guns and aimed them at him. But this did not stop the insane doll maker from moving. He, in fact, thought that the guns were fake. April really didn't want to hurt him, but in the back of her mind she knew that it would be the only way to get through to him. She instead picked up a fine china doll and threw it at him. It shattered to pieces and some of the china scratched him, but he held the shiny needle in his hand and still walked towards her. She tried shooting at him, not aiming for the head since she didn't want to kill him. He lurched forward when the first bullet hit but carried on his merry way when the others did, slowly getting weaker. April put the guns away and grabbed a carving knife that was lying around. She slashed him with it until it broke and he pinned her up against the window of the store.

"Just hold still." He clenched the needle and aimed it at her. "It won't hurt a bit."

April tried not to scream, since zombies were on the other side and everyone knew that they responded to noise. She kneed him in the crotch and then round house kicked him to the floor.

Mr Williams grabbed her foot and tripped her over. He got on top of her. "Stop struggling. It'll all over soon, my dear."

In an act of fright, April put her pistol to his chest and quickly pulled the trigger, not realising what she was doing.

It was only until Mr Williams started moaning in pain that April realised what she had done. She looked at where she'd shot him. A bullet hole penetrated where his lung was. He limply rolled off in agony and clutched his chest.

"O-Oh...no..." She whispered in horror. "What have I done...?" She kneeled down at his side. "Mr Williams! Oh god I'm so sorry.."

Despite the pain, he still smiled. "What for, kid? You...you helped me see...what I was doing.." He looked over at the 'dolls'. "Those girls weren't like you... They had...no weapons... And couldn't fight back. I was blinded by the hope that Jane would come back... But, in truth, I knew she wouldn't... She's all I have in this lonely world... She's my everything... What I strive for..."

April looked at him in despair. "It...it can't end for you like this..."

"It has to... Death will claim me either way..." He turned his arm over and showed her a fresh zombie bite. "I haven't got much time left kid... Either I die or I turn..." He said sadly. "D-Do you remember when we first met?"

"I do... I came here with my dad to get a doll... And I got my finger stuck in one of the shelves..."

"Yeah... I remember that too..." Mr Williams gave her the gun she dropped. "One thing I don't want, is to hurt you as an undead being... I don't want you to see me as one of them... April... You're going...to have to... Kill me.."

"B-But... I can't..." Tears welled in her eyes. "You're like a brother to me Ned... You've always been there for me when my mom worked late and when Goldy pushed me to my limit..."

"Sometimes you have to let go April... People change... Wars rage on... But the world still spins..." He suddenly stiffened, as if he'd just remembered something. "...April. Go over there and get me that wrapped box."

"The one with the pink ribbon?"

"Yeah... And hurry."

She took it off the shelf and brought it down by his side. It had a label saying: 'To April'.

"It's for you, go ahead, open it."

She undid the bow and removed the hot pink coloured lid. "..Oh my god..." Inside, was a doll version of her mother. It had auburn hair tied into pig tails and a red and white patterned dress. "Ned... Did you make this for me?"

"I remember you saying how you wished your mother was there for you on those lonely nights and how you cried yourself to sleep. So, I decided to make a doll version of her for you. That way you'll know that, no matter where you are, your mom will always be there with you."

"...N-Ned... Y-You...shouldn't..." Her voice became more wobbly as the emotions got to her. A tear rolled down her cheek and dripped onto the floor.

"Don't cry, April." He caught one of her tears on his finger. "Thanks to you... I can finally move on... And die in peace..." He closed his eyes with a sense of peace in his mind. "I'm ready to go April... Pull the trigger..."

She shakily held the gun to his head, crying her eyes out. She hated to do this, but it had to be done, otherwise he would come back as a zombie. "G-Goodbye, Ned... I-I'll miss you..." She weeped.

"I'll miss you too..."

She shut her eyes tightly, looked away, and a loud gunshot echoed in the empty shop.

Her body shook even after the shot. She didn't even look at the corpse in front of her. She stared at the doll for what seemed like an eternity. All those times she was lonely were starting to break her, and soon enough she burst into tears. She huddled on the carpet next to Mr Williams' dead body and cried like there was no tomorrow. She always acted as if being lonely wasn't a big deal, but that was only a mask she wore. In truth, she hated being left alone and isolated.

The door behind her was swung open and a tall shadow towered over her.

"...April? April, are you okay?" She didn't look up and continued to cry. She heard the door slam shut and something fall to the floor. "April... Hey hey..." Some arms wrapped around her and she felt warm.

Her head was perched on a denim jacket with a flaming tyre below. She shook off the tears that were blinding her and looked up to see a familiar face. "...Nick?" She cried. "Oh, Nick!" She hugged him tightly.

He hugged her back. "It's okay, April, it's okay." He spotted the dead body of the toy shop owner. "...You had to do it yourself...huh."

"Yeah... He gave me a doll that looked like my mom... Because he knew I felt lonely. Then he told me he was bitten and that I had to..."

"...I see." He finally said. "Trust me, you did the right thing. I don't think he would have wanted to hurt you as one of those things."

"But he was one of the greatest friends I've ever had! And-And...I killed him..!"

"I know how you feel. I've lost a lot of friends over time... But I know that I have to keep pushing forward. He may be gone, but I know that he wouldn't have wanted you to think of his death as a bad thing. Don't you see how peaceful he looks? You gave him freedom from his impending doom."

"..."

"April, listen to me. You did the right thing. I don't mean to sound blunt, but you can't stay here and cry over him all day. There's an outbreak, and the last thing I want is you dead. I think that was the last thing he wanted too."

"..." She stood up. "...Y-You're right. I can't sit here and cry, not when there's zombies on the loose..." April wiped her sore eyes. "..Can I hug you just one more time please Nick?"

"Of course you can." He hugged her again and cradled her head.

They stayed like that for while until April pulled away and shed her remaining tears.

They were about to leave when they heard some muffled cries from the storage room.

"Do you hear that? That could be a survivor!" Nick ran towards it.

"Wait up!" She followed after him into the damp cramped room.

Inside was a brown haired tanned woman tied up with a cloth covering her mouth. She struggled and yelled with wide eyes.

"This must be one of his captives..." He said.

April searched the shelves and found a small knife. She cut the rope binding the woman and then removed the cloth. "Are you alright?"

"Mi marido me abandonó maldito de Dios en esta ciudad! Voy a hacer que aunque. Voy a formar un arma y patear su culo!" She ranted.

April stared at her as if she'd just asked her to crack an impossible code. "..What?"

"...I guess I'd be angry too if my husband left me."

April turned to Nick in surprise. "You can understand her!?"

"I know some Spanish. Here, let me try talking to her." He cleared his throat. "Hola. Mi nombre es Nick y este es mi amigo de Abril. Cuál es su nombre y dónde habéis venido?"

The Spanish woman folded her arms. "Estoy Denitra. Yo y mi esposo llegó aquí desde España para unas vacaciones, pero él me abandonó en el momento en que él vio a los zombies. A continuación, ese chico me vio, creo que ustedes saben lo que sucedió a continuación."

"She says that her name is Denitra and that she came from Spain for a holiday with her husband. He left her here and then she was captured by Mr Williams."

April listened and pondered. "Can you tell her that we can take her to a church in a desolate field where she'll be safe from the zombies?"

Nick nodded and then faced Denitra. "Podemos llevarle a una iglesia donde usted estará a salvo de los zombies. Es en un campo aislado de la ciudad, así que no tienes que preocuparte de que se rompan."

"No voy de todas formas hasta que mi esposo se lo que viene con él!" She spat. "Además, estamos atrapados aquí! Cómo es una iglesia para mantenernos vivos para siempre?"

"She wants her husband's ass handed to him. And she says that we're trapped here and asks what the point of waiting in a church is."

"Tell her that my dad's coming with the military in 5 days to extract all survivors from the area. And that we'll deal with her husband later."

"Okay." He turned to her again. "Usted no necesita preocuparse. Los militares está llegando en cinco días para extraer todos los supervivientes. En cuanto a tu marido, vamos a tratar con él una vez que llegue a la seguridad."

She kept her icy eyes on him. "Cómo se que puedo confiar en ustedes dos? Yo no sabrá a menos que me den un arma y me lleve con usted a Lynch el bastardo."

"She wants to lynch her husband and she won't trust us unless we give her weapon and take her to him."

"Hmm... That's going to be a hard one. We don't even know where he is..." She was deep in thought. "...Wait. Nick, can you ask her where he usually hangs out? Like in any bars or clubs?"

He nodded and turned to her. "Tu marido tiene cualquier lugares que normalmente va a? Al igual que un bar? O un club?"

Denitra thought for a moment. "...No sé, pero creo que a veces pasa en los bares con sus amigos. Él siempre viene a casa borracho los fines de semana, así que él podría estar en un bar en esta localidad ahogando sus penas."

"She says that he might be in a bar in this town drowning his sorrows."

"I think I know... He could be at The Drunken Nymph. That's the only bar in town I know."

"I'll tell her. Mi amigo podría tener alguna idea de dónde está. Ella cree que él puede estar en un lugar llamado la borracha de la ninfa."

"Si en eso es mejor, nos gustaría ir! Quiero darle un pedazo de mi mente." She almost yelled in triumph.

"Gracias, amable Madame. She's up for it."

"Great! We'll get going as soon as we know where that bar is..."

But Denitra swiped the knife April was holding and went to wait in the main store for them.

"...Pushy isn't she?"

"Well, I guess she's just a hot headed woman."

"Seriously though Nick, where did you learn to speak Spanish?"

"It was the language me and friends spoke when I was younger. It's basically a second language to me."

"I wish I could speak Spanish."

"Remind me and I'll teach you some time." He winked. "April, are you sure you're going to be okay? I mean, you did just kill a childhood friend of yours.."

"I'll be fine. It's just like someone I knew said to me..." She smiled. "It's escape, or die."

To April those were just mere words. But to Nick it was something that made his blood turn cold. He stared at her in a trance, almost unmoving.

"Nick?"

He jumped and came back to reality. "U-Uhh... I'm fine. You go and check on Denitra. I'll be out in the minute." When she was gone Nick went into a state of paranoia. He clasped his mouth with both hands. "...Holy shit... Those were Rhonda's words... She said that to me when I..." He held his head with both hands and paced around the room. "..But April couldn't possibly know Rhonda... She wasn't there with us in Los Perdidos... So, who the hell did she get those words from..?"

"Nick? You okay back there?"

"Yeah! I'm fine! I just...need some time to think. I'll be out in a sec!" He shouted. "...what the hell's going on? Who told April the same thing Rhonda said? No one got out except us..."

"Nick? We need to get going! Denitra's getting frisky!"

"Okay!" He covered his face slightly to keep the tears in. "...No, I can't think about Los Perdidos now. I need to get out of here, with April. And I need to get back to Annie so that we can get back on the road. Those two must be wondering where I am..." He picked up the weapon he dropped and headed out with them both.

They journeyed from the store, with April taking one last look at Mr Williams' body before leaving. It was the same, zombies outside ready to spread the infection, they knew the drill. April had her guns and anything she picked up from the street, and Denitra had her knife. Nick, however, carried a different weapon from the two. It was a sharp saw attached to a heavy sledge hammer. An invention Nick liked to call: The SledgeSaw. He sliced and hammered through the crowd with bloody execution. Even April was amazed by this weapon.

"Nick! That's an awesome weapon!" She yelled over the moaning of zombies.

"Thanks! I made it myself!"

"Why did you come down for me Nick? What made you abandon the telescope and come charging into the store?"

"I saw that guy pinning you against the window, with a needle aimed at your neck. And 'cause I don't like to see my friends getting hurt, I acted fast. I picked up this SledgeSaw and fled down the stairs towards the store. Then I burst down the door and..."

"Found me."

"Yes. I've never seen you cry before, so it was an upsetting sight for me." He sliced through another one and paused to wipe the blood off his face. "Some people call me too friendly, but that's just how I am."

Nick's weak point was sometimes his friendly nature. He always took the diplomatic approach with psychopaths and tried to make them come to their senses. But, well, let's just say that Nick wouldn't be able to name the number of times that it didn't work. He wasn't one to bash someone's skull in because they seemed crazy on the outside.

They arrived at the Irish green pub and looked upon the naughty nymph that was upon it, lifting her leg high in the air.

"This is it. The Drunken Nymph."

"You really think her husband could be in here?"

"It's the only bar in town that I know. My dad won't let me go near the apparent other one. Never told me why." She entered the bar with Nick and Denitra trailing behind.

In almost an instant they spotted Denitra's husband. There he was, behind the counter and downing a bottle of vodka. He was tanned like his wife and had very short black hair that curled slightly.

Denitra marched up to him and slapped him across the face. She took the bottle and smashed it on the floor.

"Qué fue eso!?" He was about to hit her back but then froze up when he saw her. "Espere...Denitra? Estás vivo?"

She slapped him again, harder this time. "Por supuesto estoy viva usted dumbass! Estoy luchando por mi vida y lo que estás haciendo? Beber vodka como un cerdo egoísta!"

From there was a full blown argument, completely in Spanish. April might as well as left them there, she couldn't understand nor speak to them. Nick could decipher every single word and, frankly, it wasn't something that should be heard by the human ear.

They squabbled on like small children. April turned to Nick. "Uhh Nick? Maybe you should calm them down. I mean we can't stand here all day listening to them."

"...I'll try. But, I can't guarantee that I'll get through to them." He cut in between the pair. "Basta! Basta! No tenemos tiempo para esto! Usted puede continuar su argumento posterior. Pero ahora tenemos que conseguir que dos de seguridad!"

"Pero él debe ser castigado por dejar detrás de mí!" She shouted back.

"Señora, hace que parezca que tenemos todo el tiempo del mundo?" Nick raised his voice slightly. "Necesitamos conseguir que dos a esa iglesia o los zombies hará oír usted y garra de su camino en."

Denitra glared at him for a moment. But she cooled down and gave her husband a slap on the wrist. "Bien, nosotros vamos contigo a esta iglesia. Liderar el camino, antes de que mi esposo me golpearon hasta la muerte con esa botella."

Nick breathed a sigh of relief and went away from the two.

"Did it work?" April asked.

"Yeah. She and her husband are coming with us."

"Thank god, I thought we'd be here for hours." April said. "Right. Let's get going."

They gave the husband a device called The Slapper and then were on their way. Zombies left and right were reaching out for them but Nick and April quickly put them out of their misery. As she kept shooting she thought about what the headmistress had said to her this morning. It made her wonder, what about April did she see as 'lady-like'? She made weapons with her dad, had posters of Chuck Greene in her bedroom, and concentrated on studies rather than boyfriends (unlike most of the girls at her school). She was a tomboy with no intention of changing her ways. What, about that, was lady-like? Perhaps she would never know, since the headmistress could be turned or dead.

After going through the never ending barricade of zombies they trudged up hill into a grassy field with a calm breeze blowing across. The pine trees and mountains in the background gave April a sense of peace. She remembered walking up this way with her parents and sometimes attending the church for some hymns. And it was also here where her father first explained who Chuck Greene was, and where they tried to create that paddlesaw. She breathed in the fresh air and felt determined to make her father proud and find her mother. Nick would have had the same determination that he had ages ago, but that was sucked out by the events he experienced.

Inside the church the woman from before was sitting in a pew with her hands together, as if praying. Alight candle sticks were spread everywhere especially near the altar, where a biblical cross was below a beautiful stained glass window. Red, green and blue glass adorned it and made pretty colours as the outside world reflected it's light through it. The silence was so thick you could hear a pin drop. It was just dead silent.

Nick broke it. "So... This is where you're hiding the survivors?"

"It's the best I can do, and the only place with no infected." She said, drinking in the old church she always knew.

Nick watched her go over to the altar and fish out something from under the carpet. "Know this place well, huh?"

"Me and my parents aren't religious, but we do like to come up here on Sundays and sing some hymns." She forced a tile up from beneath and took out a silver key with a Atlantica Casino keyring on it. "My dad got me this keyring from Fortune City. He went there for a vacation with mom. Before... Well, you know..."

Denitra pushed Nick out of the way and went straight into the church office, yelling something in Spanish. Her husband followed and pretty much did the same thing.

April groaned. "What does she want now?"

"She said something about coffee... And a boat trip to Sweden.."

"I think she can find coffee in there, let's leave her be."

"Probably best..." He could hear them arguing again, and decided it was better to leave them to it.

"Shall I go sort them out?" The woman in the pew asked.

"No, leave them. They'll sort it out." She paused to listen. "...hopefully."

"Alright." She stood up and clasped April's hands. "Thank you for saving me earlier by the way. I don't know what would have happened if he...took me back to his hideout.."

"No problem. I'm just doing what my father taught me to do in this situation."

"You should be a heroine, miss. Up there with the other famous zombie slayers."

"Well... I wouldn't exactly call myself a heroine just yet..."

"Oh don't be so humble! You saved my life! I'm Penelope. What's your name?"

"April Freemore." They exchanged smiles.

"Are you going to rescue others and bring them here too?"

"Of course. I would never leave innocents out there to die."

"You're just like Frank West himself." She grinned.

Nick gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Now that you've got that key, should we maybe try to unlock something with it?"

"It's my house key. I just need to go in there and get something important to me. You'll come with, right Nick?"

"Sure, I'll keep you company." He held his SledgeSaw behind his back. "It's hard to find friends in a situation like this, believe me."

The screaming voices of Denitra and her husband grew louder.

"We should probably get going. If they start getting physical, try to calm them down." She said to Penelope. "I'll come with more survivors. Meanwhile, make yourself at home. My dad's coming with the military in five days so you don't have to worry."

"Thank you once again."

"No problem." She walked out with Nick behind her. He prompted her to walk a bit faster as they passed the bickering couple.

April was glad that she wasn't on her own anymore. She had a new friend to help her fight back against this sudden outbreak. Sure, he was a bit older than her, but his age didn't concern her. He was a mechanic too, now that was handy. A mechanic in a zombie apocalypse was more than useful. Because of this, April was starting to get a bit cocky. She barely flinched at stabbing or shooting them anymore. It was as if she had gone from a normal school girl to a hardened zombie survivor.

"Really changes you doesn't it?" Said Nick, reading her thoughts. "I used to be a naive youth before the Los Perdidos outbreak. When it happened, it changed me forever. It made me think on my feet, rid me of the immature thoughts I once had, and swallowed up some of my cowardice. There's traces of my old self in me somewhere... But they're slowly fading as I continue to fight."

April rubbed one of her pistols between her fingers as she listened. "I think the same is starting to happen to me... These guns...they're starting to become more friendly towards me now. I'm not usually on board with killing things. But if they're zombies... You damn right I'm gonna kill them." She walked to the edge of the hill and looked upon the ruined city before her.

Nick came from behind and stood by her side. "Where did these damn things come from? There was no indication of it happening or anything."

"One of my classmates got bit. How he did, I have no clue. But all I know now is that we have to survive." She held his hand. "We're gonna get out of this, together. I swear Nick, I'll make sure both of us and the others escape this hellhole alive."

"...Didn't think you were one to trust people so easily.."

"...Yeah..." She shyed away. "...Well, I don't have many friends. And I rarely meet people like you.."

"Me neither. Most of mine died... Now all I have is my girlfriend and her dad."

April stared at Nick for a moment. "...You have a girlfriend? Is she the one who needs the Zombrex?"

"Yeah... She got bit when she was very young. Because we refuse to have her chipped we have to search for shots to inject herself with."

"So she's an illegal?"

"You could say that..."

April looked off into the distance again. "Where are they now?"

He stood in front of her and pointed. "Outside of town, behind that pile of rubble. I told them that I would be back within an hour, and then...this happened..."

"Like you said before, if we got some blueprints and help from the others, we could make something to bust it down." She smiled hopefully at him. "I'd help you too you know. And then my dad and I could go on a trip to find my mother."

"Do you love her that much?"

"Yes! She was always there for me when Goldly was bullying me and when dad was away. I got upset when she had late shifts, and I usually ended up cuddling a photo of her and crying quietly."

Nick was silent for a while. This was his girlfriend's exact relationship with her dad. They both loved each other very much and her dad would go insane if she died. He'd been through this type of situation before, the least he could do was help her achieve her goal.

"...Hey. In return... Maybe I could help you find your mom?"

"Really..? You'd help me find her?"

"Course! I'm a nice person, and I'm sure my girlfriend's dad wouldn't mind...with some convincing.."

"...Nick... We barely know each other, and yet you're helping me... But then again I have sworn to get out of here with you... So I can't really say much."

"We as survivors have to stick together, and push through. It doesn't do us any good if we battle against each other. I only wish other people felt that way.."

They felt tempted to sit down and take in more of the scenery, but April had a place to be.

"We need to take a quick stop at my house before we go back to Sains Co. There's something I need to grab."

"Alright, let's go, we need to get in before dark."

They trekked down the hill and went back into the hellish city.

 **End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3: Operation Avarice

Time until the military arrives: 114 hours, 13 minutes and 23 seconds.

Nick and April had just finished their conversation of the century when they arrived at April's house. She slipped the key into the lock and opened the door. They went inside and left the zombies out of what they were doing.

April wasted no time and walked fast from one room to another, hastily searching for something. Nick took his time looking around at her house. It had been a while since he'd been in any structure or building called home.

"Nice place you have here." He said.

A saucepan came flying out of the kitchen. "Dammit!" She kicked the counter and then emerged from the doorway.

"What are you looking for? Maybe I could help you find it."

"No it's okay, it'll come to me in a minute." She threw the cushions off the sofa and stuck her hand into it.

Nick watched in confusion as she continued her search. What was she looking for? His question wouldn't go unanswered for too long.

April withdrew herself from the wrecked sofa and stomped up the stairs. "It's got to be here somewhere..."

Nick followed her. "What is it? A box? A necklace?"

"No no, something far more important."

This piqued his interest. "If it's not a piece of jewellery, what is it?"

She opened another door and disappeared into it. Nick heard some fumbling through and things being thrown around, until April suddenly squeaked quietly. "April?" Growing worried for her, he dashed inside. "April, what's-"

"~I've found it!~" She sang.

In front of her was a cardboard cutout of a guy in a yellow jacket. The famous motorcross champion himself: Chuck Greene. His ice blue eyes seemed to look right through you and conveyed a mix of hatred and determination.

Nick stared at it for a while. "...So... This was the important thing you had to get?"

"Yes. Chuck Greene means so much to me. Me and my dad absolutely love him."

"...But...it's a cardboard cutout..."

"Not just a cardboard cutout. A Chuck Greene cardboard cutout."

"I think you might need some help.."

"Oh shut it, Chuck Greene is epic." She held it under her arm. "We're putting this near the TV, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

"Wasn't planning on it..."

"That's good. Right, come on, I have what I came for." She went.

Nick was about to leave too, but out of the corner of his eye he spotted a dark brown box on the floor. Upon examining it he found a wind up key on the side.

"Nick? Come on!" She shouted as he was about to wind it.

"Coming!" He put it in his pockets and then ran downstairs to join her.

Time until the military arrives: 113 hours, 6 minutes and 2 seconds.

Once they were back at Sains Co. April made the final adjustments and then stepped back to marvel at her work. "This looks amazing. Well, it's Chuck Greene, so of course it would look amazing."

"I honestly don't understand why you like him so much."

"Because he's epic. Nothing else to say."

Nick turned his gaze to the TV. "...Oh, hey hey!" He suddenly said. "Look, they're talking about this city again!"

"Again?"

"Yeah. They did a whole report on it while you were knocked out. It was just a talk about what they should do about the outbreak, nothing important. Now, I think they've come to a decision."

April and Nick sat down, watching intently.

The young woman on the screen looked on in a state of seriousness. "The situation of the Lydonhole outbreak has forced authorities to come to a hard decision. We bring you live feed from the conference as Derek Freemore delivers the final verdict."

The camera cut to a podium, where a grey man was standing. His beard and hair were silver and his face was hardened, along with his brown eyes.

"That's dad!" April cheered.

"Woah, he must be in a high position."

"He is, he spends most of his time with the army. But... Why does he look so...sad?"

Her dad looked away from the audience for the brief moment, but then faced them again. "We have debated long and hard about this..." There were strange out of place pauses in his sentences. "...And though, I would have taken the other route, and I care about my baby girl, April, dearly, we have...come to a strong and firm decision." His eyes went dark as he said the next few words. "...We...are going to bomb Lydonhole..."

"W-What!?"

"...and destroy any organic life and undead. This shall be known as, Operation: Avarice. Hopefully from this, we Americans will learn, that arrogance comes with a price.." He turned his back on the eager paparazzi and left before any photos could be taken of him.

"Operation: Avarice has taken flight, and as we speak the military are-"

Nick turned it off in frustration and threw down the remote. "Bomb the city... Bomb the city!? What are they, fucking idiots!? They bombed the last few cities in an attempt to stop the outbreaks, and did that help? I don't think so!"

April was still in shock. "...Why... Why would dad want to destroy Lydonhole!?"

"...Aw shit..." He held his head. "...we need to get out of here, or we'll be blown to ash."

"He can't have come up with that! Dad would never bomb Lydonhole with me still inside!"

"That was probably the government's idea. I know some ways of containing an outbreak, and a bombing isn't one."

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. "It's dad.." She said upon looking at the screen.

"Take the call, see what he wants. Maybe there's some truth to find behind what he said."

She pressed a button and held it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, sweetheart." Her dad said.

"Dad... Were all those things you said on the TV true?"

"...Shit, you saw it..."

"Were they!?"

"...Yes. Yes it was all true." He heard her sigh annoyingly. "April listen, it wasn't my idea. I was speaking someone else's words during that conference. The government's words."

"Why would they want this place destroyed?"

"To contain the outbreak. I tried to persuade them to let me handle it, I tried, but they were having none of it. Apparently their well being matters more than a loving child."

"Well they're wrong there."

"You damn right they are. ...I don't want this call to be all negative though, how have you been doing?"

"Oh I've been doing fine. I got a weapon and some gear like you told me to. And I've made a new friend."

"Have you? Well that's great honey. What's their name?"

"His name's Nick. He's a bit older than me, but he's really nice and he's a mechanic too."

Her dad went quiet. It went on for so long that she thought she'd been cut off. "...Is...Is his last name...Ramos...by any chance?"

"...Yeah... Why?"

"..Put him on the phone, now." He demanded.

"Why? Do you know him-"

"Put him on the phone. I won't repeat myself."

April looked over at Nick in confusion. "U-Uhh... My dad wants to talk to you."

"Why?" Nick asked.

"I don't know, he just does." She gave him the phone.

"H-Hello?" Nick stuttered. Some inaudible shouting came from the device and Nick pulled his ear away. "Woah man, calm down! I-I'm not what you think! ...Yes...Yes I was a part of that outbreak... Yeah I knew a guy called Dick... ...it is on my neck... J-Just please...I'm begging you...don't tell anyone where I am. Because they'll hunt my ass down dude, they already kind of are. ...Oh don't worry! April's fine! I wouldn't lay a finger on her, sir! ...yes... Yes I understand... I'll take care of her, don't worry. She'll be fine. No... I promise you, I'm not a mutant... I was just... Nevermind, I can't remember most of my past anyway. Me and April will get out of here and then I'll hand her over to you... I never break my promises... ...okay...okay I'll put her back on..." He gave her the phone back.

April hesitantly held it to her ear. "..Hello?"

"Hi sweetheart. Me and Nick had a little talk, and...well... I'm relying on him to help you get out of there. I know it's against the rules... But I feel as if he's the only sane one you're going to meet."

"What do you mean?"

"There's people out there, April, people who want nothing more than you dead. The world of an outbreak is a cruel one, it's kill or be killed. And I can't lose you now. Your mother is gone and I don't want you to go too."

"I won't dad, I won't."

"I'm going to try and delay them from getting there. It will give you and Nick more time to escape. I'm sorry, but it's the least I can do."

"That's okay dad. You're trying your best, that's what matters."

"I'll mess with the engine to try and cause a breakdown. If they catch me doing this, then I'm good as dead. It's risky, but it's the only way. You keep surviving and pick up any other survivors. Don't turn them in to the military. I heard whispers that they were going to execute any and all survivors."

"What!? B-But... Why!?"

"That's how screwed up the government is nowadays sweetheart. Why they choose to kill survivors, I don't know, but it's messed up."

Nick could hear the conversation loud and clear now that it was on loudspeaker. "This is exactly what they did in Los Perdidos."

"Yes... I've heard..." He replied. "The military...they haven't done good things in the past. I thought they would change...but now I understand that I was hoping for an impossible dream."

April put the phone on the table so that she and Nick could talk to him. "Where are you now dad?"

"I'll take a photo of outside and show it to you." After a minute a picture of a decaying landscape came onto the screen. The skeletons of previous buildings were sticking out of the burnt black ground.

"...That's the ruins of Willamette." Nick said.

"So you must be in Colorado right now."

"Indeed I am. We have to do a few cleanups on the way to Lydonhole, so I'll try to stall them. You and Nick find a way out of there. If Nick's as good as a mechanic as you say, then you could make some combo weapons with his help. I know he's a freak who for some reason can't get infected, but nevertheless I'm trusting him." Some mumbled voices were heard in the background. "I need to go. If they see me talking to you, I'll be in trouble. Be careful sweetheart, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Take care now, bye." He hung up.

April drifted away from the table and pressed her forehead against the wall. "...So...this is what's it like to be an outbreak survivor, huh?"

"It's not bad...once you get used to it."

"Once I get used to it, you say..." She deeply breathed and took herself away from the wall. "I can't believe the government would just...backstab us like that. I know we were arrogant but, come on, blowing us up is going a bit far."

Nick nodded in agreement. "I guess the government are just pricks." He laughed a little. But soon stopped when he saw her icy face.

"We need to get more survivors. And make something to bust down that pile." April said seriously.

"Yeah... Yeah..." He agreed. "Otherwise, we might as well say goodbye to the world." His eyes suddenly went wide, as if he'd just remembered something, and he twisted his whole body towards her. "April, I saw something earlier."

"What?"

"Remember when we were walking back to Sains Co.? As we passed some sort of diner, I saw a poster on the wall advertising a party or something. Look, I've got it here." He brushed it onto the table.

The poster was made of ruined paper, and it was written in red.

"Holy crap. This isn't red ink, it's real blood.." April felt herself gag but soon controlled the urge. "Let's see what it says.."

'Feeling lonely in the apocalypse? Want a good send off before saying goodbye to the world? Come to the closed down Harter's Gun Factory, and see what I can do to make your dreams come true xxx ;)'

"Ugh, sounds like a slut wrote this and put it up for desperate guys." April said angrily.

"I agree. But don't you think someone, dumb as they are, fell for that? As I took the poster off I saw a young woman dragging a man into an abandoned factory."

"You think that's the girl who wrote this?"

"I don't think the poster being relatively near an old factory was a coincidence."

"Hmm..." She was in thought for a minute. "...Where did you find this Nick?"

"In Flecter's Street." He said as he got the map out. "Around here."

"Jesus, that's over the other side of town. There's gotta be tons of zombies there, we won't make it on foot."

"...Maybe...we could fix up a car. Does this place have a garage?"

"Sains Co. has one in the basement. I've seen them drive out of it sometimes."

"Okay, we'll find a car, make any repairs or adjustments to it, and then head over to that factory."

"Good idea. It's better than standing here and waiting for death." She grimaced, looking at the doll of her mother.

"Alright, let's get down there."

They went down an array of steps as fast as they could. The stairs took them deeper and deeper until they were underneath the bloodthirsty undead. Just as April said, there was a garage. It was plainly lit with two cars, some old whiskey bottles, a box of matches, some petroleum in a bag, and some tools.

"One of those will do. We might need to make some changes though.." Nick jumped as the headlight on the one he was pointing at fell off.

"...Or...even better...we could combine the two. Take some of the parts of one and merge it with the other to make something stronger."

"...Yeah... Yeah, I think I could do that.."

"We're going to need more than just a car to fend them off. Something like..." She surveyed the area, suddenly stiffened, and walked over to a certain place. "...like this!" She held the empty whiskey bottle high in the air.

"They're all out of alcohol... We won't be able to set them alight."

"Not alcohol, Nick... Kerosene."

"Kerosene? How the hell are we going to get that? There's none in here."

"..I might just know a thing or two about how to make kerosene.." She grinned. "You see that bag of petroleum over there? We could make it into kerosene by a little something called Fractional Distillation. What we're going to need is: a Bunsen burner, a round bottom flask, a fractioning column, a thermometer, a condenser, a heat proof mat, some laboratory glassware with ground glass joints, and an Erlenmeyer flask." She saw Nick's confused face. "...A conical flask, Nick. It's also known as an Erlenmeyer flask."

"Oh right, okay."

"Write them down if you want to remember them easier, or you can just ask me again, whichever suits you. Once you've got all that you need, bring it back down here, then we can commence the experiment. I need to make a few estimates, so I'll be down here if you need me."

Nick recounted the list in the head, over and over until it was as solid as a block of concrete. "...Okay! I think I've got it."

"I saw a lab on the 2nd floor. You should be able to find what we need there. And remember to call me if there's a problem."

"I'll be back in a minute with the equipment." He rushed up the stairs to the second floor.

"Alright April, let's see what you can remember about alkanes and cycloalkanes..." She muttered to herself.

Time until the military arrives: 113 hours, 2 minutes and 23 seconds.

Nick burst into the second floor laboratory. He looked among the lab equipment. "...First... A Bunsen burner..." He snooped round and soon found it on top of a table. "Okay. Next was... A round bottom flask.." He kept repeating the list in his head until he found all the items. He had just picked up the glassware, when he found a familiar carton at his feet. It was white with traces of light blue on it. "...Is that... Zombrex?" He picked it up. "...My god... It is!" It was empty with no syringe inside, but a Zombrex box in a place where it didn't exist was odd. "I thought they didn't produce any here... How would they be able to get their hands on the stuff? ...wait..." He looked at his surroundings. A lab in the middle of an office building. Now that was weird. What was the need for it? Unless...

He looked at the box again. "Did they...produce it here...without the law knowing?" He shook his head. "No, I have to get back to April. She needs to see this though..." He left the laboratory clutching the Zombrex in his hand.

Time until the military arrives: 112 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds.

April had written an essay of letters and numbers by the time Nick came back. He gazed at it in awe, unable to translate any of it.

"Uhhh... What does this all mean April?"

She spun round. "..Oh! You're back. Did you get everything?" He gestured to his full arms. "Right, perfect. I'll take it off you." She quickly grabbed it all and put it onto the table. From there, she began constructing the apparatus while mumbling some calculations to herself.

"April, what do all these...symbols...mean?" He scratched his head as he stared at the gibberish.

"If we make this kerosene, we can't mix it in with water as it is immiscible with the liquid. This experiment will cause hydrocarbons to come out of the petroleum which will soon condense and turn into kerosene. Possibly with a density of 0.78 - 0.81 g composed of carbon chains that will contain between 6 and 16 carbon atoms per molecule."

"...Meaning?"

"Meaning that this experiment has a high chance of succeeding." She wiped her forehead. "Alright, it's done. We're ready for the experiment. Pour the petroleum, not all of it, into that flask, Nick. I'll light up the Bunsen burner."

The burner came to life and April placed the flask on top of it. Not directly, there was some apparatus securing it just above the flame.

"We'll need to heat it to between 150 and 275 degrees for this to work." She said. "That shouldn't be a problem."

The petroleum boiled and the thermometer above rose in temperature. April watched intently, she didn't want this experiment to fail.

"The hydrocarbons should be floating down the condenser right now..."

Nick kept his distance. "What if it fails? Will it explode?"

"No no! ...shouldn't do anyway..." She noticed him backing up and beckoned him over. "Come on, don't be afraid, we have a high chance of success."

Nick reluctantly walked back and spectated with her.

The hydrocarbons condensed and became a thin clear liquid. Once the flask was almost full April turned off the heat and took a look at her creation.

"We did it Nick." She smiled. "We really did it."

"But... That one flask isn't going to be enough to fill all those bottles.."

She smirked. "Why do you think I told you not to pour all of it in?"

"...Ah...clever."

"We'll make some more right away."

Another flask of kerosene was made and April carefully poured it into the whiskey bottles. Nick then lit a few matches and threw them in. An explosion of fire erupted within the bottle and showed no signs of dying down.

"Great job, Nick." She gave him a pat on the back.

"Well, you did some great work too. You deserve some credit."

"Who, me? I just set everything up and poured the kerosene into those bottles. You're the one who made it work Nick."

"...I disagree."

"Well, whatever, we've got the bottles sorted at least. And now... Onto the car..." She grabbed a wrench from the counter. "You ready to do this Nick?"

"Yeah, I'm ready."

"Then let's get to it."

Nick turned on his blowtorch and set to work on the car with April. The two worked like a tag team, with one doing one side of the car and the other doing the other side. Nick kept checking up on April, making sure she was doing okay, which she didn't really mind. He was a mechanic, so of course he knew what was best for April. She screwed on the tyres while Nick placed a large metal pipe on top.

But it wasn't secured. It came tumbling down onto April.

Nick saw it just in time. "April! Move!" He got in front of her and caught the pipe.

April helped him push it back up. They both panted in exhaustion and relief. "...That...really needs to...be bolted...on.." She just about said.

"Yeah..." He huffed. "Should we...get that out of...the way first...before the other things..?"

"Probably...best..."

They got some bolts and another wrench for Nick, and leaped on top of the car. After screwing the bolts securely on they sat on the roof of the car with their legs hanging over the edge.

"Looks pretty good." April commented.

"We're only halfway done. We've got to fix up the engine and paint it too. Any specific colours you want?"

"Maybe we could paint an N on the driver's door, and an A on the other door?"

"Our initials huh? Great. What colour?"

"Well, my favourite colour is ruby red. What about you?"

"..I guess...that would be silver.. I don't really have one to be honest.."

"Fair enough. We'll get the paint later, when we're done with this car."

Their break came to an end and they resumed the work they started. They carried on for a good solid hour until Nick finally slammed down the bonnet and stepped back with April to admire their work.

"Pretty good." Said Nick simply.

"Could use a splash of colour, but we'll sort that out later." April handed him the car keys. "See if she runs."

Nick got into the car and inserted the key. He twisted it a couple of times and the engine roared to life. "Woohoo! Yeah!" He cheered.

"Oh yeah, baby, she runs!"

"Yeah! She's alive!" Nick leaned over and opened the other car door. "Come on, grab those bottles and let's go!"

April gladly did so and hopped into the car with him.

Surprisingly, the garage door was automatic. It slid open all by itself once Nick had faced the car towards it. April held the burning bottles tightly. She winced at the pain of her singed fingers but clenched her teeth and bore through it.

Nick turned his head slightly and noticed her fingers. "Oh god, April! Look at your fingers! Here, let me hold them."

"No, you have to drive. Don't worry about me, I'll be okay..." Her face twisted in pain but she softened it quickly.

"I don't like to see you in pain... April, just-"

But some banging from the garage door cut him off, along with deep moans. They were out there, waiting for them, and they knew that. Nick withdrew his hand from the neck of one of the bottles and grabbed the wheel, before a shooting a worried glance at April.

"J-Just... Just throw them out quickly, okay? I don't want to have your fingers entirely burnt."

"I'll try..."

He scratched the tattoo on his neck nervously. The door finally fully opened, and a whole horde of zombies began to pile in. Nick slammed his foot onto the accelerator and zoomed out, running over some zombies as he did.

April grabbed one of the flaming bottles and lobbed them at a group of undead. The bottle broke upon landing and flames engulfed the zombies.

"Take out the ones on the sides!" Nick yelled. "I'll handle the ones in front."

She quickly nodded and threw more bottles at them.

One of them held onto the car and wrapped their arm around Nick's neck. He choked and struggled but elbowed it in the face and leaned back so that April could shoot it.

Nick started panicking as more blood covered the windscreen. "No no, holy crap man! I can't see a thing!"

"Get it off Nick! Quickly, or we'll crash!"

He quickly switched on the wipers and tapped the wheel with each of his fingers with anxiety. "Come on... Come on.." He kept driving through the chaos and tried to calm himself down. He started grinding his teeth. "Why can't it come off faster? Come on..!"

"Nick, just calm down. You need to concentrate." When the blood was washed off they saw the eyes of a dead man staring at them.

April screamed and Nick swore in horror. "Oh god, oh god!" He made a strong turn to get it off. The corpse slid off the bonnet and onto the pavement, where the zombies would devour it.

Nick was hyperventilating. "Holy shit man... He was staring right at me.."

They were gathering around the car. "Nick! We need to keep going, otherwise we're both dead!"

He yelped when he finally snapped out of it, and stomped on the accelerator. "Oh god...oh god..." He kept saying to himself, as he ran more of them over. Some bodies flung themselves onto the screen, to which Nick panicked even more. But he tried to keep his cool, for April's sake. He was meant to be the adult, the protector, in this situation. He couldn't be cowering in a corner when April was depending on both him and herself to get them out of there. He hardened his face and narrowed his eyes. "April, get them off me from the side. We need to get to that factory."

"Understood." She threw a couple more bottles at them, and also fired some bullets. But she knew that she'd have to get an ammo refill soon. Maybe there was a weapon store near the factory.

They finally got through the horde. Nick hugged the wheel and faced away from April.

He laughed a little. "...Oh man, I'm such a coward.."

April tried to look at his face, but he kept it hidden from her view. "Don't say that Nick. You're not a coward."

"Yeah I am... When I should be going through them as if it's a walk in the park, I panic instead.."

"I panic too sometimes. It's called having human emotion, there's nothing wrong with that."

He sniffed and wiped his brow. "My girlfriend's dad has been pressuring me to 'grow some balls'. He says that his daughter needs a man who will stand beside her, and fight through the danger."

"You don't need to listen to him. Take it at your own pace. Some people take a while to stop being afraid. Don't feel pressured to man up." She paused. "I crapped myself when I realised that there was an outbreak starting at my school. But I knew that I had to push through and get where I needed to be. If I'd stayed there, I probably would have been killed."

He finally faced her. "...You were at school when this happened?"

"Yeah... Taking a science exam, higher paper."

"Woah, that's incredible. No wonder you were able to write all that gibberish!"

"Heh..." She smiled a little.

Nick smiled back and turned his gaze to the window. "...Oh wait... I think we're here." He pointed to a run down rusty factory in front of the car.

"That's got to be the place. We're in Fletcher's Street right now, aren't we?"

"Looks like it."

"Okay." She made her guns click. "I'm going in."

"April, wait." He held onto her arm, but smiled awkwardly when she looked at him. "U-Uhh... I noticed that you don't...have a melee weapon. S-So I thought I'd give you this." He handed her a broadsword. "If this isn't enough, I could make some combo weapons and give you those, if you'd like."

"No, this is okay. I've never used a broadsword before though.." She opened the car door and leapt out.

As she walked towards the factory, Nick stuck his head out the window. "Hey, April!" He called. His face turned serious when she turned around. "Please, be careful. I really don't want you to die..."

"I'll be okay, my dad taught me how to disembowel."

Nick suddenly went wide eyed, as if he'd just seen a giant mutation skulking towards him.

"...You know... One of Frank West's moves..."

His expression didn't change.

"...My dad is in the army. What do you expect?"

"I expect him to be a loving father that takes care of his daughter."

"Yeah, he did that along with teaching me how to disembowel."

Nick held onto the wheel. "Well anyway, I'll park the car and then go scavenge. Meet me back here as soon as you can. Good luck." With that, he drove off down the other street.

April smiled to herself. "Haha... He's so soft.. But he's handy, so that's a good thing." She took another photo with her phone, and got a close up of a zombie. She grinned to herself. "Fantastic!" She tried to say in Frank West's voice. "Ahem, anyway, time to go explore that factory..." April steeled herself, and then started walking. She picked up a wrench and a bat on the way.

 **End of Chapter 3**


	4. Chapter 4: Memories

Everything was burnt completely back, singed papers were scattered on the floor. A neon heart glowed outside the door to the main office. April opened it cautiously, absolutely unaware of what she would find.

A deep red met her eyes. The whole room was bathed in red and candlelight. A heart shaped bed with satan sheets was placed at the very end. A man half undressed was chained to this bed. He was almost unmoving, with only his chest moving up and down to breathe. This man was quite young, at least 18 or 19.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" April ran over to check him. The man suddenly looked up at her, and seemed to be almost afraid of her. "Do you need some help? Did she hurt you?" There appeared to be no visible scars on him, so April was thankful for that.

She was about to release him from his cuffs, but he grabbed her with his free hand. His breathing was unsteady and harsh. "...L-Leave... Leave...b-before..she finds...you..."

April noticed a small pin prick in his arm. She found a connection between that and the smell on his breath. "...She's injected you with alcohol hasn't she? To put you in a daze, and to stop you from getting away." She put her attention on the cuff again. "Look sir, just let me get this cuff off of you..."

She went to try and take them off again.

But the door shut behind her.

April froze up. There wasn't any wind or gale forces on this day. Which could mean only one thing.

Something staggered towards her from behind. April shook all over. She looked at the man who was just as terrified. She gulped. Was this the 'she' that the man was talking about? There was one way to find out.

She slowly stood up. The thing behind her stopped in it's tracks. With a deep breath, and something her mother always used to say to her, she turned herself around and faced herself with what was behind.

A young lady was standing in the doorway. The only thing about this woman that April was concerned about was her amputated hand. It had been replaced with a metal ball with unforgiving sharp spikes. The woman herself looked wrecked. She had an alarming amount of colourful extensions pinned to her hair, to the point where her original hair colour was lost to the naked eye, and her whole face was white with purple triangles above and below her eyes, like a clown. Her cheeks were deflated and weak. She wore a very short black skirt, and a very exposing top.

April knew by the fact that she was carrying a knife in a shaky hand that she had to be careful with this woman, whoever she was.

Her grey eyes seemed to flare up when she saw April. "..Oh. You're a girl." She bluntly said. But suddenly changed her expression to an insane smile. "But that's okay! Because I'm bisexual!"

"...Me too..." Said April. She stared at the knife again. "..U-Umm... Would you mind putting the knife down?"

"But I need it. For in case the bad zombies come to take me away.."

"I don't think you'll need to worry with that spiked ball hand of yours."

The woman ignored her and paced round the room.

April cautiously walked towards her. "...Listen. I can take both you and that man somewhere safe. It's far away from the zombies, and there's no infected survivors that I know about."

She spun round and clutched the knife in her hand, holding it dangerously close to April's neck. "D-Do you know what a survivor did to one of my brothers? I had two of them, but they both died." She pinned her up against the wall, and stroked her skin with the blade. "A journalist killed my brother in the Willamette outbreak. My other brother was lost to the zombies in a different city. And I had to watch him die. He called out for me, but I couldn't do a thing. I had to watch those monsters tear off his flesh, eat him alive..." She stabbed her fingers with her spiked ball hand, and then ran the bloodied fingers down her face, from the bottom of her eyes down to her chin. "Adam and Evan are gone, but I'm still around. The sister who no one knew about. Who was only mentioned once and rarely in everyday conversations as a myth." But she suddenly put the big grin on her face. "Do you know why I went from a clown to this?" She stumbled out of the office and to the bare window. "To attract him." She finished, as she pointed at Nick in front of the supermarket.

"..Nick..?" She blinked. "But Nick already has a-"

The lady twisted her neck towards April, making some joints click as she did. "Oh, I get it..." She honed in on her. "You just want to protect him from every woman you see, because you love him!"

"What!? No no! Not at all!"

"Whore!" She spat.

"He's in his 20s! I'm 15! There's a big age difference between us!"

But she didn't listen. She caressed her knife and grinned at her with wild eyes. "I'm getting that, handsome, sweet man one way or another. And if I have to kill you to do it..." She made small cuts on her face and smiled crazily. "Then I'll be more than happy to!" She laughed loudly while performing more small acts of self harm on her body.

April readied herself. A clown woman who self harmed herself. That was more than bad. She held onto her broadsword tightly.

Psychopath BOSS: Callie MacIntyre.

"You should have never set foot in here!" She yelled, before marching up to her with her spiked hand ready.

April dodged her swing and round house kicked her in the face. Callie swiped at her with her spiked ball hand and made a gash in her leg. She got back onto her feet and started beating April with her spiked hand. It was enough to leave a few nasty cuts on her face and arms, but it wasn't able to kill her.

April resisted defeat and got out her broadsword. She tried to take a few slashes at her, but Callie blocked them with her spiked ball. April then resorted to shooting her, but she just deflected the bullets with her spiked ball hand. Callie stopped still and licked her knife like an insane asylum patient, which she most likely was. This pause left her wide open. April shot her twice, and then went at her with the broadsword. But Callie soon retaliated and started blocking again. It seemed that April would need to distract her in order to strike again. As they kept fighting, April could hear some music playing in her head, music that seemed familiar to her. Some parts were played by a violin, while other parts was an electric guitar. It talked to her about loneliness, neglect, depression, lust, heartbreak, hunger for freedom. It was like the majority of April's school life in one song. She started beating her with the wrench, but even that eventually broke.

Callie suddenly broke away from the battle and started hitting the man chained to the bed.

April couldn't just let her do this. "Hey! Leave him alone!" April quickly locked her arm around her throat and brought Callie away.

Callie elbowed her in the face and took another swing at her.

She dodged and then stomped on her bent knee, forcing it to the ground along with Callie. She pinched a pressure point in her neck and held her arm behind her back.

"You gonna calm down?" She asked through gritted teeth.

Callie screamed and yelled. She used her remaining strength to stand up and shook her off her back.

April went flying in the air and hit the wall in the hallway. She looked up and saw Callie marching towards her. "...I take that as a no..." She sighed, and then got back up again.

"Think you can beat me, idiot?!"

Nick hit the freezer and shattered the glass. It fell all over him like little flakes of snow. He pushed himself back up, his vision was blurry.

The looter shone a torch in his face, which made him squint. "Yeah you! You snivelling little nice boy! You think you can tell me and my gang to calm down!? Don't you know the rule around here?" He sneered. "It's kill, or be killed. Every man for himself."

"J-Just... Please man..." He shielded his eyes. "I've got some people to get back to.."

"Yeah right. I've heard the same excuse every time." He laughed. "We own this mart. It's our little box of treasures, you hear?" They threw some flaming bottles at him, and started cheering and laughing.

Nick scrambled for safety. His head was pounding and his body was about to give up on him.

"..I gotta find some food..." He winced. "...Or I'll die, I'm sure of it." He came across a packet of crisps and immediately opened it and chugged them down as if they were a drink. He felt a little better, but he was still hurt. "I'm going to need more." Avoiding the flaming bottles that the gang were throwing, Nick picked up a bottle of orange juice and drank it. He let out a breath as he felt refreshed. "Phew. That hit the spot." A flaming bottle landing next to him made him yelp. The jeering looters were trying to coax him out, and were taking no prisoners.

Nick spotted a saw lying on the ground along with some pipes, and got an idea. Using his strength, he bent one of the pipes round the handle of the saw and made sure it was secure in place. Then he inserted the other pipe into the hole that the first pipe had made, and used his blowtorch to melt the metal and make it stick together. "This should work.." He mumbled. But was interrupted by another flaming bottle landing relatively near him.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." They jeered.

They got tired of waiting and pushed one of the three forward. He was resistant at first, but soon agreed to go when he remembered how easy Nick was, without a weapon that is.

Nick waited behind the shelf of biscuits and sweets for the thug to come into his grasp. Once he did, Nick pulled him round the corner and put him into a head lock. He didn't want to kill the man, yet, he simply wanted to knock him out.

"Go to sleep." He said through gritted teeth.

The looter struggled and tried to call for help. But soon his arms went limp and he stopped resisting. He slumped into Nick's arms, unconscious.

Nick leaned him against one of the shelves quietly.

"Hey! What's taking you so long?" One called.

"The dude's not even that hard.." The other said.

They sniggered.

"Thinking about that guy, didn't he say earlier that he had a girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"I bet she's as ugly as him."

This made the other looter burst out laughing.

"And a lowlife. Just selling herself for love."

"Haha! Yeah! What a-"

But before he could say any more, a blade sliced through their necks. And their heads rolled off onto the floor.

Nick glared at them, with no remorse. "No one EVER says anything like that about Annie." He would have felt some regret if they didn't insult his girlfriend, but they had already made that mistake.

Nick put down his weapon and then searched through the shelves and freezers for some food. "I should have probably asked what she likes before she went. But I'm sure she won't mind if I choose something for her." He picked out some popcorn and a pizza. "It's only 5 days right? I think we'll be able to last." He opened a can of fizz and drank it. The store was a mess, but no doubt useful. He took a breath, and then continued searching.

Meanwhile, over at the factory, April had been knocked over by the man who was chained to the bed. Callie had released him, and then literally thrown him at her. He was free, at least, but they weren't out of the woods just yet.

"Ugh, this just won't do!" She suddenly pulled out a syringe and stabbed her neck with it. As the liquid was pumped into her bloodstream, her vision became distorted and her body was more responsive and quick. She dropped the syringe and stared April down as she slowly made her neck crunch for the second time.

Thanks to her dad, April knew some martial arts and fighting technics. She blocked some of Callie's swipes, and then kicked her in the stomach. Callie started strangling her and pinned her up against a wall. April knew what to do in this situation. She put her hands together, as if she was praying, and slipped them through the triangle shape that Callie's arms had made. She then got out her thumbs and stabbed her eyes with them. Callie screamed and backed away, holding her eyes in pain. April delivered one final blow to her stomach with the baseball bat, and felt time slow down. The music she heard in her head faded. Callie's ever widened eyes were paused. April stood there, feeling triumphant, and also, regretful.

Then, time started again. Callie staggered back. Her mouth was bleeding.

She couldn't gather the strength to talk for a while, so instead wiped her mouth. She started twitching her head while staring at April with wide eyes. "...You're... You're really something special aren't you? Think you're the bee's knees. While I have to force any guy to go out with me, with my weapons." She was quiet as she looked at her spiked ball hand and brought it slowly up to her face. "Why am I not pretty?" She hit herself with it. "Why am I not pretty?" She hit herself again. "Why am I not pretty..?" Another hit. "Why am I not pretty...!?" She hit herself again and again, repeating the same sentence, until she was practically screaming it at the top of her lungs.

April knew what she wanted.

She aimed her gun, and shot her in the stomach. Callie stood there, wide eyed, staring at her. She came up to her and pushed her body against the bare window frame. "How about I do it for you?" She asked, before taking her spiked ball hand, smacking her jaw off with it, and then giving her one final kick to end her life.

She seemed, happy. She was jawless, of course, but even without a jaw, she almost beamed as she fell to her death. It was a quick one, since gravity dragged her down and forced her to land with a 'SPLAT'. Her body lay sprawled on the concrete.

Nick stared at it in surprise, carrying some food in his arms, and then looked at April in the window.

She picked up her walkie talkie. "Hey..."

"Hi... D-Did you just...push a woman out of a window?" He looked at the body.

"Yeah... It's a long story. I'll tell you once I get down there." She cut off.

She grabbed the survivor and then ran out of the factory, with his arm over her shoulder.

Nick waved once she came out, almost dropping the bags as he did.

"Oh thank god you're okay! ...Who's this?"

"A man who was captured by that woman over there." She gestured to Callie's corpse. "She told me that she put up the posters to attract you. And when I told her that you had a girlfriend, she assumed that I had a crush on you and then... Well, there was no stopping her."

Nick blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yes."

"Well... Do you have a crush on me?"

"What!? No!"

"Right right, sorry, should have known. So who was she?"

"Callie MacIntyre."

"You mean... The sister of Adam and Evan MacIntyre?" He stared at the body again. "Damn. She really took the fall after they died huh?"

April glared at him.

"...sorry."

"Let's get this man back to the church, maybe Penelope can help him."

Time until the military arrives: 111 hours, 45 minutes and 23 seconds.

It was less chaotic on the drive back. They ran up the deep green fields while helping the man and soon arrived at the church doors. Inside they found that Denitra and her husband were still arguing, this time it was over which coffee mug to use. Nick and April decided to ignore them and instead went straight towards Penelope who was still sitting in a pew.

Her black hair was now long and flowing, instead of in a ponytail as it was before. "Oh my god!" She almost yelled when she saw him. "Is he okay!?"

"He's been injected with alcohol and chained to a bed." April handed him over to her.

Survivor rescued: Bradley Erlec. Age: 19

"I don't know what she would have done to me if you didn't come along. Thank you." He forced a smile on his face to show that he meant it.

"I'll take care of him." Penelope looked at them both with her ice blue eyes. "You two should probably get some rest, you look shattered."

"Today has been a hectic day..."

Penelope clasped her gold pendant and muttered a prayer to herself.

When she finished, Nick pointed at it. "What's in there?"

She opened it and showed them. "A picture of me and my brother." Her and a blonde man with blue eyes were sitting there and smiling.

Nick felt his heart stop. He knew this man. And he knew what had happened to him. And it was all his fault.

"The last I ever heard of him was when we moved to Los Perdidos. I soon moved out and parted ways with him many years ago. I haven't seen him since." Penelope chuckled to herself. "My brother Dylan was always a weird one. I saw him dry hump a random woman once. But, he was a really good brother to me. Always played with me, always talked to me when no one else did."

Nick suddenly looked pained.

"Nick? Are you okay?" April asked worriedly.

"Yeah. I'm fine..." He lied.

"Well anyway, good luck you two. Be sure to bring back more survivors here. I shall take care of them."

Nick gave her some of the food in his arms, but kept his eyes averted from her.

"We'll be going now. We need to recharge for tomorrow." April said. She ushered Nick out of the church, keeping away from Denitra and her arguing husband.

She closed the church door behind her. Nick leaned his head against his hand, which was now a closed fist.

"Nick." She came into his view and held his hand. "What's wrong?" When he didn't reply she made him look at her directly in the eyes. "Did you kill Penelope's brother in the Los Perdidos outbreak?"

He didn't speak for a little while. He sighed and shook off his tears. "...yeah. Yeah, I killed him.." He solemnly admitted. "But it was more of self defence really. He was going to turn me into his 'slave' if I did anything he said."

"So I'm guessing he was a pervert."

"Yeah, a bisexual one at that. He tried to coax me into doing sexual acts. But of course, I refused."

"And then he lashed out."

"Yeah. With an... Interesting weapon..."

"Don't worry about it, that wasn't your fault."

"I know... But... When I think back to it, I wish there was something else I could have done. To prevent his death."

April stood there in silence for a moment, before taking in a breath. "Sometimes, Nick, you come across a situation where only one can get out alive. You think I wanted to kill Ned? I had to, otherwise he would turn. Same with Callie. I wish I could have calmed her down, but she was so insane to the point where she couldn't be fixed. So I had to kill her, otherwise she would have killed me, and probably lured you in. You can't save some people sometimes, Nick, sometimes you just have to put them out like a light, to spare them from anymore misery." She smiled sadly. "We can't save everyone in some of these situations."

"I know... I couldn't take Rhonda with me on the plane..." He mumbled depressingly.

"Huh?"

"Nothing... But you're right.. You can't save everyone in an outbreak, as much as you'd like to."

April had never seen Nick so upset about something. It even made her feel depressed to see him in this state. He was the only outbreak survivor that she had seen in the flesh who was actually really nice, and had a big heart.

She noticed the pizza under his arm. "Ooh, you brought pepperoni."

He looked at it. "Oh... Yeah I did."

"Awesome! Pepperoni is my favourite you know."

"Is it?"

"Yeah! I love pepperoni pizza!"

Nick dropped the frown and started smiling again. "Heh... Well, I'm glad I picked this one out then. But we might have to microwave it or something, I'm not a good cook."

"I could teach you. My dad taught me how to cook, and he's a really good one."

"Maybe you could help me cook this then? Since...I really don't have much of a clue. It's been ages since I've had pizza."

"I think I saw one of staff rooms in Sains Co. with an oven. We could have a look and see if it works."

"Great." He smiled and took her hand. "We'll go back there and find it."

They walked back to the company tower together. Both beaming as they knew that, no matter what, they would both get out of here, alive. Nick had to do it for Annie, and April had to do it for her father. The two trekked down the green hill and disappeared from the view of the church.

Time until the military arrives: 109 hours, 27 minutes and 7 seconds.

In the staff room of the tower, there was indeed an oven, as April had said.

Nick tried to turn it on, but it wouldn't respond to him turning the dial. "It doesn't look entirely broken. I could get it working again by messing with some wires." He paused. "But that could take a couple of hours.."

"That's okay. I could go and look for more survivors."

"I don't think that's a good idea. Penelope did say to get some rest."

"I'll be fine. Chuck Greene and Frank West didn't rest until everyone was safe. I'll do the same, and we'll get them out with us."

Nick grimaced.

"What?" Asked April.

"I worry about you, you know."

"Don't. I'm fine. I'll only be out for a few hours. I promise I'll come back."

"I'm scared that you'll overwork yourself.."

"She won't with me around." A voice echoed.

They both spun round and saw a familiar black haired figure.

"Penelope?" Nick stood up. "Did you follow us back here?"

"Yes. I was interested in where you were hiding out." She spread her fingers across the counters as she walked. "I couldn't let anything happen to the esteemed daughter of... Derek Freemore."

"Why the pause?" Nick asked.

"No reason." She simply said. "But anyway. The reason that I'm here is to make you an offer. I overheard that you used a telescope to search for survivors correct?"

They both nodded.

"Yeah... That's not going to do you too many favours. See, the telescope has a limited perimeter of the town. For all you know, there could be someone crying for help on the other side of town, and you wouldn't be able to get to them in time, because you wouldn't be able to see them."

"What are you suggesting?" Nick interrupted. "That there's a control room with surveillance screens?"

She held up a pair of keys and smiled. "Precisely."

April studied them to check if they were real. "Where'd you get them?"

"That's none of your concern. What matters now is that you have an expanded view of the town." Penelope chucked them to April, to which she caught them. "I saw a girl, in her late 20s, loitering outside a club near here. If you're looking for more survivors to kill time, you could try there."

"Thanks Penelope." April said.

"Your welcome." She was about to walk out, but stopped in the doorway. "Oh, Nick?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Just so you know, I know that you killed my brother." She didn't turn around. "And before you ask, no, I don't forgive you." She silently left and went down the stairs.

Nick felt worse than he ever had, even a little sick.

"Don't listen to her." April assured. "She doesn't know what he tried to do to you."

"Yeah.." Nick winced. "April, do you know about this club that she was talking about?"

"I think so..." She pointed to a purple silhouette of a building on the map. "I've got a feeling that it's The Jewelled Pole." She shivered. "Goldy forced me into that place once. I got touched up by some...women. And when my dad found out, oh boy was he mad..."

Nick pulled a puzzled look. "Who is this...Goldy? Does he hate you or something?"

April burst out laughing.

"W-What?"

"No...no...sorry..." She panted. "It's just that... You called Goldy a 'he'." She sniggered.

"Oh right, sorry. It just sounds like a boy's name to me."

"Goldy is a girl. And, well, I don't know what it is, but she holds something against me."

"Haven't you considered telling a teacher or your parents?"

"Already tried. She's still on me like a cat on catnip." April put the keys on the counter. "But my life story is something for another time. Right now, I need to get to that club."

"Okay, I'll let you know when I'm done."

They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Luckily, they would only be apart for a few hours. So once April came back, they could continue with the plan to destroy that rubble, and escape.

Time until the military arrives: 109 hours, 6 minutes and 45 seconds.

A man in his 40s and a young teenager were outside, with a big pile of rubble in front of them. Since the town was inside the circle of mountains, they couldn't get inside.

The man grumbled. "I'm getting too old for this shit..."

The teen held her stomach lightly. "Dad, we have to go in there. He's somewhere inside..."

The man held her shoulders and looked at her seriously. "Do you know what would happen if you didn't get your Zombrex every day?"

"I would end up like mom.."

Painful memories of the Vegas outbreak made tears form in his eyes. But he brushed them away quickly.

He turned his attention to the bulge in her stomach. "And look what he's done to you!" He almost yelled. "18 years old and already expecting!"

"We didn't think it would happen, dad! It was only one night and-"

"Well he's an idiot for thinking it was okay to do it behind my back! When he gets out, I'm gonna kill him with my bare fucking hands."

"It's not his fault! It's mine, because I decided it was time..."

"And it's his fault for going along with it!" He let out an agitated sigh.

"Dad, please. We need to find a way in there. We have to save him." She paused. "Wouldn't you do the same if Mom or Stacey was in trouble?"

He turned around and glared. "I told you not to mention Stacey."

"She helped you and me get out of Fortune City! If it wasn't for her, I probably would have turned!"

"I don't want to hear anymore about her, okay?! Me and her had a relationship, it didn't work, END OF STORY." He bellowed.

The girl withdrew away from him, trying hard to keep the tears inside.

Ever since chipping was made law, her father had gone to such great lengths to keep her unregistered that he had turned into a shadow of his former self. A dark version of himself which he never wanted to become, which caused his daughter to disappear from him for two years.

He looked sadly at her. It made his heart sink when he saw his daughter upset. Feeling bad, he went up to her and comforted her. "...Katey.. I- I'm sorry... It's just... I'm under so much pressure. I've turned into this underworld criminal just to keep you unregistered. And it's gotten worse now that the authorities are after us..." He breathed out a long sigh. "The whole world's gone mad... And it's all because of Keyes..."

Katey gave a little smile. "I love him dad. I love him as much as you loved Mom. You know I couldn't bear losing him..."

"I know honey. It's just... He's not exactly getting any braver. If my daughter's having a boyfriend, then he's got to fight those zombies without cursing his mouth off in fright, or hiding in a corner saying 'oh god' over and over."

"He's young, dad. He's not as used to zombies as you are..."

A jet black helicopter flew menacingly overhead.

"Oh shit!" He cursed. "Katey, get down!" He pulled her behind the car and crouched down.

Luckily, the helicopter didn't see them, the people inside seemed to have other goals in mind. The propeller fans holding the machine in the air chopped fiercely as it disappeared over the mountains.

The man and his daughter stood back up. They seemed to be gone for now, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"We can't stay here. They'll eventually find us. Katey, get your Zombrex out of the car."

She quickly opened the rusty car door and searched through it. After a while, she came back with five boxes of the drug. "I think this should be enough, dad."

"Alright. Let's move." He held her hand and ran towards the circle of mountains with her.

Time until the military arrives: 108 hours, 54 minutes and 52 seconds.

Nick sat down and turned on the TV.

"...as of such, the cure has yet to be-"

He quickly turned it over to a nature documentary.

"...it pollinates in the spring, and then takes the nectar back to the hive."

He laid back on the sofa for a while. April had been gone for some time. Where was she?

Then, just like magic, the brown door creaked open. Nick was startled by it and suddenly spun round, only to see April, in a tuxedo.

He stared at her for a while and cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the suit?"

The very question made her cover her face in embarrassment. "I had to wear it... To get into the club.." She explained. "A woman inside thought I was a boy, because of my haircut, and demanded that I get into proper attire before coming in. I got into this, went into the club, and then I was confronted by her. It turns out she's actually a celebrity, not one I know though. But anyway, when she found out I was actually a girl..." She mumbled the next sentence.

"Huh?"

"... She kissed me..." She said quietly.

"What? Really? Where?"

She hovered one finger over her lips.

"...oh wow... That must have been awkward..."

"...yes... It was very awkward..." She shivered.

"Well, it's okay now. You've gotten her back to the church, and now you can finally rest for the night." A ringing sound made him rise from the sofa. "Ah, it's done." He pointed to the comfy sofa as he went out. "By the way, you can change the channel if you want. I just need to go and get something."

"I might get changed first... This tuxedo is making me cringe."

"...I personally think it suits you." He turned a worried glance towards the staff room. "Anyway. I've got to get something out of the oven, or we might be facing an inferno soon enough..." He closed the door behind him and jogged through the hall.

April smiled at him before he went, and then went into a private room to change back into her normal clothes.

Once she was changed she sat down on the sofa and waited, with her foot resting on her knee.

"I didn't know Nick was into nature documentaries..." She muttered when she saw what was on. She turned it over to a movie channel, maybe there would be something worth watching on there?

Nick came staggering back in with his hands full. "S-Sorry I took so long. But this stuff isn't easy to carry you know." He put the food on the table. "Also, I kinda burnt the pizza a little bit, sorry. But the popcorn's ok."

"Hey. Not everyone's perfect first time." She took a small bite out of a slice of pizza, and her face scrunched up a little. "It's... Only your first time..."

"Remind me to never cook again without guidance." Nick said as he sat down. He turned his gaze to the TV screen. "What have you put on?"

"Dunno. I think it was a movie channel or something."

"Well, that's good timing. We've got everything we need."

"Shouldn't we be out looking for survivors? Frank West and Chuck Greene were always out there, saving survivors and purging zombies."

"We should. But, honestly, aren't you tired? You need rest if you want to save them in time. I was thinking that we get some sleep and then search the city tomorrow."

"We can't waste any time. If the military comes before we escape, then we're screwed." She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "I'll get up early and head out."

Nick stared at her with concern. "I think it's best that you get some rest first. You can do what you like tomorrow, but don't think that I'll stop worrying about you."

"You're not my dad, you know. I can take care of myself..." She folded her arms.

"I know... You're just...really young. And I'd feel bad if I let you die out there." He replied. A melancholy look crossed his face, something was bothering him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah... It's nothing.." He lied.

She caught up on this lie and came closer. "If anything's wrong, you can just tell me you know."

"Trust me, man, I'm fine. I'm just remembering some personal stuff..."

"...Okay..."

Nick was a mysterious one all right. Keeping his past unmentioned and in the dark. Why didn't he like to talk about it, April wondered, what happened to make him so secluded and silent? One thing was for sure, it was more than just the outbreak.

He quickly moved on to another subject. "I think it's starting." He peered at the screen. "A horror movie, huh?"

"Well, we have the popcorn. Might as well see if it's good."

The two laid back on the sofa and put the popcorn bowl in between them.

The clock in the city centre chimed to signal the end of the day, at least seven times. And when it did, darkness struck the quiet civilisation of Lydonhole.

The man with the camera and black jacket was wandering through the streets, accompanied by his lonesome. He recalled his time in Willamette with sadness in his heart. So many people perished. Cliff, Carlito, Jessie... Even the death of Kent made him feel a little depressed. Sure, the truth of the Willamette and Santa Cabeza outbreak got out. But no one believed it was the government that were behind them.

He kept walking until he got to the city square, where he heard the bells of the bell tower ringing.

He narrowed his eyes at the zombies to the side of him. Honestly, he'd been through so much that what happened after dark didn't even phase him anymore.

"After 7," he muttered, "when the sun is below the horizon, survivors should be careful around these guys."

Their eyes lit up, and went bright red.

"They become stronger at night, due to a mutation in the virus."

Growls could be heard from all directions as they turned round and staggered towards him.

"Their senses become heightened, their overall strength increases, and you'll be given a fight or flight choice."

It sounded like banshees. Clawing, limping, moaning, grunting, he heard all these sounds at once.

"I've been through a lot of shit, you know. I've seen people die, cut me, stab me, shoot me, you'd think I'd be tired of it by now..." He clung onto his bat. "But you know what keeps me going?" They surrounded him like moths to a light. "Finding out the truth." He said as he lunged at them.

Time until the military arrives: 107 hours, 45 minutes and 12 seconds.

"What the hell was that?" Nick blurted out as the credits rolled on the screen.

"That was just... That was bad..." April said.

"Ugh that was a huge waste of time. We could have rescued, what, 9 people by now?"

"Like we should be doing?"

"...No. No we need some rest first. We'll do it in the morning."

"Look, Nick, I appreciate your concern for me and all, but I'm not a vulnerable little girl, I can take care of myself." She argued.

"I know... I just..." He looked sad. "I just... Don't want you meet the same fate as Diego..."

"Diego?" She asked. "Was he your friend?"

"Yeah, a really close one. We grew up in some foster homes together. He was one of the only survivors, other than Annie and Rhonda, that I could consider one of my most trusted friends."

"I'm sorry for your loss. How'd he..."

But she didn't need to say anything, Nick knew what she was asking. "He... How can I put it? He... Well... Me and him were captured and were forced to take part in an experiment where a giant laser was aimed at us. Diego was the first subject. The laser went through him and... Black and white worms forced their way out of his eyes..." He shivered. "They kept coming out. And cause they were so big, they ended up literally tearing his body open so the rest could climb out. It was aimed at me next, but I got free before they could activate the thing. His death still haunts me today. I always see his dying, gouged out, eyes in my dreams..."

"I'm sorry Nick."

"What for? His death wasn't your fault." He scratched the tattoo on his neck. "I can't think of any ways I could have prevented it. But... I wish it wasn't him..."

"I wish Cliff didn't die either..."

"Cliff?"

"Cliff Hudson. Him and my dad were good friends. I never knew the man himself, he died in the Willamette outbreak, but I think me and him would have hit it off well, if he was still alive."

Nick looked out the window and saw the flesh eating menaces below with glowing red eyes. "I hate those damn things at night."

April felt a chill down her spine when she saw their eyes. "My dad told me about them after dark. Never thought I'd actually get to see them..."

He sensed her growing fear. "Shall I go get the blankets, and we'll turn in for the night? Don't worry, they haven't seen us, they won't come in here."

"A-Alright.." She turned away from the window, still shivering in fear.

Nick got out a sky blue blanket and laid two cushions on the floor. The soft fleece blanket was big enough to cover both of them, which made April questioned where he got it from and why. The wood plank floor below seemed uncomfortable but sturdy. It wasn't the best place to sleep. But then again, what choice did they have?

"Sorry, this is the best I can do. I couldn't find a big enough mattress."

"What would a mattress be doing here anyway?"

"I don't know. I just found some wards next door to the lab."

"Wards huh? Odd..."

"I know right?" He suddenly remembered the box of Zombrex and dug it out of his pockets. "I also found this in the lab."

"W-What is that?" She held the box with curiosity.

"It's a Zombrex box. Haven't you seen one before?"

"No..." She replied. Her voice trailed off as she turned the box this way and that. "Why would it be here, of all places? I don't understand..."

This box was messing up her brain. Why was it here? Didn't this place have a no-go on producing Zombrex? Why was it empty? It made her all so confused.

"Hey." His voice brought her back to reality. "I don't want to boggle your brain too much. So maybe you can think about it tomorrow? You might strain yourself if you try now."

"Okay okay fine..." She said with a hint of annoyance in her voice. "If it'll make you happy..."

They both lifted the blanket up and shifted under it, laying their heads down on the two cushions. The cold mahogany floor was a stiff mattress.

April took her hat off and placed it beside her pillow. "Today has been... Well... Not what I was expecting..."

"I know the feeling." Nick chuckled. "One minute you're doing your normal thing, next minute you're fighting off creatures who want to eat you. Hard to get your head around isn't it?"

"Yeah..." She drew in the thoughts of this day. Was she really in class only this morning? It felt like a lifetime ago that was just sitting at her desk and writing in her notepad. "I want to find out what caused this outbreak. Then maybe, I can wrap my head around this."

"I'm with you on that. I need to get back to Annie as well as find the source of this." The light from the other room was making his light brown eyes shine.

April yawned and turned over. "Goodnight... Nick..."

"Night April." He smiled and closed his eyes, slowly but surely drifting into a peaceful slumber.

 **End of Chapter 4**


	5. Chapter 5: The Past Returns

Everything was misty and grey. Peeled off wallpaper that was burnt black was floating through the air. They had remains of fiery ember. Had the whole place been burnt down? April started panicking. She tried to stand up, but found that she couldn't move, only look. So she did. Where was Nick? Did he escape safely? He wouldn't leave her behind if he did. She was starting to sweat in fear. Her whole body was completely paralysed, she couldn't move a muscle.

Before her, a blue mist seeped in. It gathered round until it was right in front of her face. From it, an image started to form.

She looked closely at it. It seemed to be a man and a woman in a kitchen together. Judging by the rings on their finger, they were married. The man gave his wife a passionate kiss and then towards April's direction.

"You still here huh?" He scoffed. "I don't really like you, you know. You should go back to your family, not mine." He knelt down, and was about to pick her up. When suddenly, a zombie came into view, and quickly scratched her eyes out with its claws.

She screamed so loudly you'd think that something had impaled her. It shook the heavens and would pierce even the strongest ears if heard.

She woke up in cold sweat and immediately sat up.

With one quick look around the room, she assured herself that it was just a nightmare, Nick was beside her sleeping soundly and the building was still in one piece. For this, she breathed a sigh of relief.

A brief look at her phone told her that it was 4:30 in the morning. She was still feeling drowsy and just wanted to let her body pull her back into sleep. But there were people to save, and Nick would probably just stall her if she announced she was going out later in the day. There was only one thing she could do.

She tore out a page in her notebook and scribbled something down on it. She put it on the cushion beside Nick and put on her fedora.

"Sorry Nick. But I can't have you holding me back." She whispered. Without a second look, she went out of the room and silently shut the door behind her.

She felt frightened now, because she had completely forgot how terrifying the zombies looked after dark. Their red eyes pierced through like lasers. April was almost petrified, but she quickly regained her courage when she remembered her idol's achievements. Vegas, Still Creek, Fortune City, the Phenotrans Facility, Chuck Greene had been through a lot, April's dad was behind the idea of his daughter becoming just like Chuck Greene when she grew up. Well, not exactly like him, but as brave and caring as him. So she shot through them, and used her broadsword and bat for those who came too close. The fact that she was eliminating the undead seemed almost satisfying. Not as satisfying as killing the perpetrator, but it still provided some satisfaction on its own.

She passed by an alley way and suddenly stopped. Something was rustling in it. She turned towards it and looked closely. There was no sign of where it was coming from, but judging by the noise, it was something inside one of the garbage bags. Although whatever was inside could have been human, there was also a 50% chance that it was a zombie. April held her guns at the ready and marched in.

"Hello?" She called.

The rustling got louder.

"Hello? Don't worry, I'm not a zombie."

She almost shot a scurrying rat, but soon calmed herself and kept moving forward.

"It's okay to come out." She sheepishly called. Now that she thought about it, what if this 'thing' was actually a psychopath or looter?

The second she turned the corner, the noise stopped. Garbage bags, graffiti and loose papers covered the alley way. There was barely any light too, making it hard to see. She kept her guns aimed and held her breath.

"Gotcha."

She turned round. But before she could see his face, she felt a strong blow to her head, and everything went black.

Time until the military arrives: ? hours, ? minutes and ? seconds

She wearily opened her eyes again, but everything was distorted and blurry. Where was she now? All she could see was what she assumed was a beige coloured wall and ceiling. At the other end of the room some light was flooding through a doorway. Two people came through. One, a large person, and other, a person with a strange shaped arm. It was dark silver and looked more like a machine than it did a human arm, maybe it was.

She could hear them both arguing. She tried to listen to what they were saying but their voices were so distant.

"Goddammit, Gary!" The one with the metal arm yelled. "I told you to get her, not kill her!"

"What are you talkin' about? She's still breathing, look!" He gestured to April. "I only knocked her out like you asked me to!"

"Yeah. You knocked her out with a lead pipe and probably damaged the poor girl's head!" The metal armed woman sighed. "I told you to either drug her or put a sack over her head. Either one of those would have been less harmful!"

"Listen. Do I look like the type of guy who invests in drugs?"

"The guy in the letter said that they wanted..."

But April fell unconscious before she could hear anymore.

She woke up again. This time, she could see a bit clearer, but it was still blurry in some areas.

The man and the woman were now reading a letter. April focused on the woman's metal arm. Her arm had defiantly been amputated and replaced, with what looked like a flamethrower arm.

The woman's voice spread across the room. "Does it look like her?"

The man seemed to be studying April. "Yeah. She's got the blonde hair, the freckles, everything in this letter."

"What about the brown eyes?"

"We'll check that when she wakes up. I don't really fancy pulling her eyelids open."

"I wonder how my sweet boy's been doing.." She said worriedly. "Is he okay? Is he still alive? Does he remember me?"

"How could he forget? You were like the mother he never had. And... I guess I was like the father he never had... To some extent."

"I just want to see him again..."

Unconsciousness dragged her back under before anymore reached her ears.

Her eyes fluttered open, hopefully for the third and final time. Her vision was almost crystal clear. She blinked and tried to move.

The woman with the metal arm, who was now standing above her, suddenly noticed this. "Gary, she's waking up!" She knelt down by April's side. "Go get something for her!"

"Like what?"

"I don't know, cookies and milk? That's something that kids like!"

"But she's not a kid, she's a teenager."

"Just go and get it! And be quick!" She faced April again.

April was starting to panic. Who were these people? Where was she? Why were they going to offer her cookies and milk!?

The woman calmed her down. "Hey hey. Calm yourself, honey, calm yourself. We're not here to hurt you." She took a brief look at the doorway and then turned back to her. "My husband's going to bring you some food and drink, okay?"

"Does she want the milk hot or cold?"

"Warm will be fine, Gary." She called back. "Alright. I just want to test that Gary hasn't damaged your head too much. Do you know which city we're in?"

"...L...Ly...don..hole." She wistfully replied.

"What about this month?"

"Sept...September.."

"Good good. Do you remember what's happening right now?"

"A... A zombie... Outbreak..."

"Sadly, yes." She put her hand under her head and slowly lifted her from the ground. "Can you sit up, honey?"

Her vision was becoming clearer and clearer. She could now see what the woman actually looked like. She had black hair which was tied into a beehive hairstyle with a blue and white polka dot headband. Her eyes were brown and she had goggles around her neck. Her chest was only partially exposed with a short sleeved red and navy blue jacket. As suspected, her left arm was indeed a flamethrower. But her right arm was intact and covered in tattoos.

April saw what the man, Gary, actually looked like too. He was quite a large man (April didn't want to use the word 'fat' in case he took offence to it) wearing a red Hawaiian shirt. He came power walking in with a plate of cookies and a glass of warm milk in hand. He did have brown hair, but he was balding. At the back, his hair was only a few inches from touching his shoulders.

Gary came and sat beside them both.

She slowly sat April up, and used her intact arm to hold her there in case she fell over. "Are you okay, honey?" She asked.

"Hey, uh, I'm really sorry for hittin' ya..." He had a clear Brooklyn accent.

"Can you follow my hand?" She waved her hand slowly in front of April's face. Once she saw that her eyes were following it she stopped. "Well, good news Gary, you didn't damage her head too badly. But she still looks a bit..."

"Not with it?"

"Yeah. Something like that." She said. "Can you tell me your name, sweetie?"

"April... April...Freemore..." She hesitantly replied.

"Nice to meet you, April." She almost shook her hand with her metal arm but soon remembered and lowered it. "I'm Rhonda. Rhonda Kreske. And this is my husband, Gary."

"You're probably one of the strongest broads I've met. Besides Rhonda of course. Not many people survive my beat-downs."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "I think you're exaggerating that, hun."

"Uhh guys?" They both looked at her. "Why did you..."

"Oh. Uhh... We were just doing what the letter told us to..." Rhonda replied.

"What letter?"

"This one." He held it out to her.

April snatched it from his hands and read through it.

"Hey! That's mine!" But he couldn't even protest now that she was reading it.

She narrowed her eyes at it and held it tightly. "Who sent you this?"

"Dunno. Guy wouldn't reveal their face. Just said: 'Get her for me' and then walked off down the road. We were outside the city at this time. And when we came back in... That school blew up, and the collapse of rubble nearly killed us." Gary said grimly.

She became deeply unsettled by this. Who would want her? Why would they want her?

"They're long gone now. No clue where they'll go from here, it is a long highway after all. There's pretty much nothing outside here." Said Rhonda.

April gave the paper back and clenched her knees tightly. "I need to go back. Or he'll think I'm dead..." She said to herself.

"What's wrong, sugar?" Rhonda asked innocently, overhearing her. "You've got a family to get back to?"

"Not exactly a family. But someone as caring as one. My mom left the city ages ago and my dad is coming here with the military. The only family-like friend I have in this city is Nick..." She looked sadly at the ground, then at Rhonda, and noticed something strange.

Rhonda had completely frozen up. Her eyes were wide and unblinking. Even Gary copied his wife and stared in a trance for almost a minute.

"...I don't believe it..." Gary broke the silence.

"What's wrong? Do you know him?"

Rhonda broke out of her trance and blinked. "...April, honey... This friend... Nick... I-Is his last name... Ramos?"

"...Yeah..."

Rhonda took a sharp breath.

"Do you know him, Rhonda?"

"I-I...I used to... But it's nothing important. He's just somebody I used to know."

There was more to this, and April knew that. Why were adults so intent on keeping things hidden from her?

"Rhonda. I need the full truth..."

"And I'm giving you it. He's just someone I used to hang out with..." She bit her lip nervously.

Rhonda was a tough nut to crack. She wouldn't reveal the whole truth just like that. So April decided to leave the subject, for now.

"Are you gonna have this, kid?" Gary interrupted, gesturing to the cookies and milk.

"Oh, yeah, sure." She picked up the glass. "Thanks Gary."

"Hey, you're welcome, kid. It's the least me and Rhonda could do."

Outside the window. A familiar man watched and chuckled to himself.

"Been a while since I've had cookies and milk. That stuff rots your teeth though." As he was walking off, his bracelet beeped twice. He looked down at it for a minute before sighing. "Let's just get this over with..." He pulled a syringe out of his pocket, jabbed it into his neck and pressed down on the plunger. If you asked him how many times he had done this procedure, he wouldn't be able to count. But that didn't mean that it didn't still hurt. He pulled it out and threw it away. "Might be painful, but it's still better than the government tracking you." He walked off into the shadows.

Rhonda sharply turned towards the window. "Weird. I could swear I heard something..."

"Probably just you being paranoid again." Gary assured.

When she looked at April again, she couldn't help but laugh a little. The young girl had crumbs and milk all over her mouth. Well, everyone succumbed to cookies and milk eventually. She suddenly stopped when she noticed them both looking at her.

Rhonda giggled. "Well, aren't you just the cutest? I could pinch those little cheeks if I wanted to."

Gary took a shot out of his canteen. If there was one sight that made him feel awkward, it was Rhonda being motherly to a teen that wasn't even hers. "You're not actually going to, are you?"

"No! She's not my kid." She replied, slightly aggressively.

April wiped the crumbs and milk from her mouth. "Sorry. But I really need to get going. Nick's going to be worried sick about me. But thanks for the cookies though."

"Wait a minute." Rhonda halted her in her tracks. "Honey, are you planning on getting out of here, or staying put till your dad comes?"

"I'm getting out of here with Nick. My dad says that he overheard ordered executions by the military."

This made them both gasp in horror.

"Oh god, history's repeating itself." She muttered. "Well, if you're planning on getting out before they come, then take these." She handed her a large piece of heavy metal and a bottle of water.

"...What is this?" She asked, examining the metal.

"It's something that might prove useful to you. Just hand it to Nick, he'll know what to do."

"Alright, I will. Thank you both." She headed to the door. "Will I ever see you two again?"

"Maybe." Gary shrugged.

Rhonda elbowed him.

"Ow!" He yelped. "What was that for?" Her glaring eyes made him feel uneasy. "I-I mean... Yes, most defiantly."

"...Okay then. See you later, I guess." She waved goodbye to them and then went outside.

When she was gone, Rhonda confronted Gary further. "Why did you say that Gary? Of course we want to see her again!"

"I dunno, she might get in the way."

"Get in the way!? She has two guns Gary, how could she possibly get in the way?"

"Wait, she had two guns?"

"Yeah! Didn't you see them protruding out of her pockets?"

"No wonder she's survived this far."

"She probably had Nick's help, as well as her own instincts..." She frowned, wondering if she would ever see him again.

The second April got outside, she nearly dropped the piece of metal. "What is this thing supposed to be? It looks like an engine, but it's got pieces missing." She walked further through the plaza. "Those two seem nice though, I wonder where they're from."

Suddenly she felt a hand grab her shoulder.

"...Where...the...HELL...have..you...been!?" A familiar voice said angrily.

She spun round and stared wide eyed at the familiar face. "Nick?!"

Nick panted furiously. He was soaked in sweat and his Sledgesaw was close to breaking apart. "Do you know...how long...I've been looking for you!?" He almost yelled. "I was tearing this place apart...brick by brick...searching for you...! I nearly even...killed someone...because I thought they were holding you...hostage..." Droplets of sweat decorated his hair. "Man, I was so...worried...about you... I thought you had died...or something..."

"Nick, are you alright? I think you might need to sit down and take a few breaths."

"...Yeah... Yeah... I've been running round for hours non-stop...I could use a rest..." He wiped his forehead as he sat down. April knelt beside him. "...Damn, my throat's drier than a desert... I wish I'd brought some of that orange juice with me."

April suddenly remembered the bottle of water that Rhonda gave her. She fished it from her pockets. "It's not as good as orange juice, but here."

Nick took it from her. "Thanks."

While he drank the water, April took a while to look at Nick. He defiantly looked Hispanic, but sounded American. Maybe he was raised by a foster family here in the states, he was an orphan after all. She came away from his origins and instead came to his strong looking arms. They weren't all muscles with veins surfacing on the skin, but they looked strong enough to lift a 2 ton barrel or weight. It made her wonder if he built them up himself or if he took regular visits to the gym back in the day. His denim jacket was a bit worn and torn and had some blood stained on it. How long had he been wearing this? He did wash that jacket regularly, right?

Nick swallowed the last bit of water and then handed back the bottle, half empty. "Thank you, I mean it. You're a lifesaver."

"I only gave you a bottle of water... But, your welcome."

They smiled at each other for a few seconds before Nick spoke again.

"I just... Lost it when you were gone. Why didn't you wait for me to wake up?"

"I decided to leave a note because I thought you would just delay me."

"No. I told you I'd let you go out tomorrow last night. I don't break my promises, remember?"

"That's true." She admitted.

"Please April, don't do that to me again. My heart just stopped when I noticed you were gone. And I nearly killed someone out of rage. If you want to go out, just tell me. I won't lock you in the building or anything."

"I will, don't worry. I'm sorry... Nick... For worrying you.."

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have restrained you like that last night. You're capable of handling yourself, that's clear."

April threw her arms around him. She didn't know what it was, but she felt warm and bubbly inside when Nick hugged her back. It made her feel so happy, so safe, so calm. It was as if Nick had cast a spell on her to make her feel this way, or maybe it was just his friendliness that won her over.

When they came apart, Nick took her hand and pulled her onto her feet. "We've got to get to the church. Penelope called for us."

"Why?"

"She wants to have a meeting with all survivors, including us. Something about gathering info."

"Alright, we might as well go. She could know something important."

Nick shot a worried glance at the zombies, and also exchanged one with his Sledgesaw. "Could I borrow your bat? Until I get a new Sledgesaw? My one's nearly broken, as you can see."

"Sure." She carefully placed it into his hands. "Just be careful with it. I'll be needing it for later on. That bat is the only melee weapon that I don't struggle with using."

"Need more practice with the broadsword huh?"

"Oh you can say that again..."

"You'll get used to it soon enough. But I will agree with you, they're heavy." He looked out into the hoard and squeezed her hand. "You ready to go?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. Keep your eyes on them."

They both ran towards the hoard with their weapons drawn.

But then something terrible happened.

As they were fighting their way through, a yell pierced through the dull moans.

It was Nick. A zombie had sunk his teeth into his arm. Nick stabbed its head with a crowbar and pushed it off of him.

He looked at his bitten arm in fright.

"Oh my god Nick..." April said, realising what just happened. "You're...going to die..."

He shook his head quickly. "No...no I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

"B-But we need Zombrex. Otherwise you'll..."

"We'll figure something out. But right now we need to get to Penelope. Maybe she can bandage this up for me..."

April was still scared for him, but nodded. "Okay... Let's go."

She shot some more zombies as she went through.

Time until the military arrives: 92 hours, 54 minutes and 23 seconds.

The very small crowd of survivors, including Nick and April, gathered round the pews and took their seats. There seemed to be a few more survivors than last time. Perhaps Penelope went out and saved a few? Whispers and mumbled conversations filled the air and echoed around the hollow walls of the church.

Nick leaned closer to April. "There's defiantly a lot more than last time."

"I know. Do you think Penelope..."

"Who knows, it's very likely though. I mean, I can't exactly imagine Denitra going out there saving people..." His voice was a little louder than everyone else's. "I hope she's got a plan. We can't stay here forever."

"I think she's well aware of that." She changed the subject after seeing Nick frown painfully. "What's your girlfriend like?"

"Huh?"

"Your girlfriend. What is she like?"

"O-Oh well uhh..." Nick suddenly grew shy and smiled coyly at her. "She has blonde hair...which is black at the ends. Blue eyes, pretty ones at that. She has this kind of fiery personality, but she's really nice once you get to know her. Her mom bit her when she was really young and her dad's gone into a world of crime to get her Zombrex." He said. "We met in Los Perdidos, literally right before we knew an outbreak was going on. Over time...I got a crush on her... And... Heh heh... I felt really embarrassed about it, because I thought she was already going out with someone."

"Oh Nick.." She laughed. "You have the love life of a teenage boy!" She punched his arm playfully.

"W-Well... I've never been in a relationship before... So I've yet to master the basics..."

But before he could say anymore Penelope silently raised her hand and did not drop it until every single person was quiet and watching her.

"Good day to you all. I hope you've had time to adjust to this new safe haven of ours. It's not much...but would you rather be out there with them?"

The audience knew what she was referring to and silently shook their heads.

"Good." She paced around the slate platform. "Now then. I'm not going to sugar coat this situation. We all know what's happening and we all know who to point at. Willamette... Vegas... Fortune City... Los Perdidos... These large scale outbreaks have killed thousands upon thousands. Husbands, brothers, wives and children. And our government isn't helping us at all with the new laws they're making. Hell, I bet they didn't even bat an eye when the Still Creek outbreak happened."

Everyone waited for her next word in anticipation.

"...You see, I believe Frank West's theory. That the government were the cause of the Willamette outbreak. 'Cause of all the experiments they were doing with Queens. It got out and it caused the outbreak to happen, and they denied this tragedy was their own fault to save their own hide. Have a think about it, what good have they ever done for us? They deny their involvement with the Willamette outbreak, they order a firebombing on Fortune City even though there's still survivors inside, they kill any and all survivors in the Los Perdidos outbreak, I'm having a hard time figuring out who the real monsters are." She clutched her necklace tightly and shed a little tear. But brushed it away quickly. "And now this. Another outbreak, and another sin to be carried out by our 'honest and caring' government. We can't let this be another tragedy to forget soon after. No. I want this to be the outbreak that people WILL remember. The outbreak where we stood up to the military. I can't trust them anymore. Not after all the mistakes they've made in the past."

They murmured in agreement.

"So, who's with me? Who's ready to make goddamn history, and show the world what they're really like? Who's ready for justice to be served?"

And everyone stood up and cheered. Some clapped and whistled.

Nick just clapped and smiled. "She's defiantly got the right attitude."

"Let's hope it gets her through this unharmed." April said with worry. With this fiery attitude that Penelope was conveying, she would no doubt make enemies, powerful ones too, ones that people wouldn't dream of messing with.

"Okay then, men, women, and children." Penelope said after the applause had died down. "I will assign each of you different...erm...'jobs' shall we call it? These 'jobs' are no doubt dangerous and may require you to put your very life at risk. Some of you will be scavenging, some will be crafting reliable weapons, some will be gathering evidence to support the fact that this outbreak really happened, and some will-"

In the middle of her speech she suddenly stopped talking completely and glared at one particular spot. It took a while to work out where she was looking, but it seemed that everyone's question would be answered soon, as she was off the stage and marching down the aisle, like a pissed off bride who'd just been abandoned by her groom.

She stormed towards Nick and seized his arm, holding it up in the air for everyone to see.

"W-Woah! Hey!" Nick squirmed in her grip.

"Penelope? What are you doing?" April was about to grab her arm and yank it away, but then she saw what Penelope had noticed, and gasped.

It was the zombie bite that Nick had received. But it wasn't open and bleeding anymore, only a faint flesh like scar remained, the wound had completely healed itself.

Some gasped, others muttered and gossiped. April stared in disbelief. How did that happen? Was Nick actually some sort of mutant?

Penelope brought it back down and pressed her forehead against his, still glaring. "You and me are going to have a little chat after this." She pushed him away and stormed back up the aisle.

April was speechless, and stared at Nick wide eyed. "N-Nick...?"

Nick was clearly afraid. He looked around at the gossiping audience nervously. "I-I can explain.." He began.

But Denitra yelled at him from across the pews. "Yo sabía! Eres igual que ellos! Una maldita vida zombie que no-"

Nick shook his head frantically. "No, no, no es lo que usted piensa! En realidad estoy-"

Penelope kicked over the stand. "Everyone BE QUIET!" The whole audience froze and locked their eyes onto her. "I'll deal with our little friend later. But right now, we must get to assigning our jobs." They all nodded and mumbled in agreement, but still shot glares at Nick. Nick looked down at the floor, upset and embarrassed. Penelope cleared her throat. "Right then." She got out a piece of paper and read from it. "Danielle Amber, you shall be a scavenger, oh god I feel bad for you. Ricky Evans, cool name by the way, you shall be a material gatherer, basically the slightly more fun version of a scavenger. Jack Pride, you will be a pole dancer, just kidding, you're actually going to be a chemical weapons crafter, be careful with that acid and shit yeah? Grace Hudson, you will be..." The list went on and on.

Nick was still broken by what just happened. April tried to comfort him as best as she could, but she now felt unsure of him. Was his past something to do with his weird healing powers? That was a very likely possibility.

After the meeting finished, Penelope came over and dragged Nick into a separate room. April silently followed them. She knew Penelope would be forceful and maybe even aggressive towards him, April had to be there to calm her down or take the punch.

As she followed them through the arched door, she saw Penelope lead Nick into what looked like an interrogation room.

April looked into the small room where Nick and Penelope were both sitting opposite eachother with table in between them. Both glaring and both silent. From their view, they were surrounded by mirrors. But from April's view, the mirrors were actually windows, so she could see them and hear what they were saying.

They hadn't noticed April's presence yet, so Penelope continued her interrogation.

"What the hell are you?" She demanded.

"I told you! I'm not a fucking monster! I'm a human being! I'm from-"

"That's bullshit and you know it. Why else would you kill my brother? It was because you wanted something to make up for those you let die, wasn't it?"

"Is this your strategy!? Just insulting me until I slip up?"

"You're going to tell me how you're able to heal your zombie wounds, right now, or I'll have you shot."

"You can't do that! Annie needs me! April needs me!"

"April will be just fine on her own. She's not a freak like you."

Nick had that look of absolute rage, like he would lunge at her any second.

Penelope sighed and stood up. "Whatever, I need a break. But I'll be back later." She went out the room and shut the door.

She took out a syringe with clear liquid in it, and was about to inject herself when she saw April. "Oh hey, good to see you."

"What was that all about?"

"With Nick? I have suspicions he's with the government, why else would he be able to heal his wounds like that?"

"I don't know... This seems a lot deeper than just the government." She noticed the syringe. "What's that? Zombrex?"

"Hm? Oh this?" Penelope held it up to her. "Nah it's insulin. I have diabetes." She quickly injected it where the veins were on her wrist. "You can try to talk to him if you want, maybe you'll get something out of him. He does trust you more." She put her hand on her shoulder. "Just be careful around him, okay? He's still vented from me, so who knows what will set him off."

"Okay, thanks." April walked towards the door and went inside. Meanwhile Penelope took a seat facing the interrogation room. She had to know the truth, so a little eavesdropping wouldn't hurt anyone.

Nick had his head in his hands and was looking down at the table. He flinched and started glaring when the door opened, thinking it was Penelope again, but his glare soon faltered when he saw April standing there instead. "Oh... Hey April..."

"Hi." She closed the door and sat down. "You okay? You look frustrated."

"Yeah..." He sniffed. "Yeah I'm fine." His voice had a raw quality to it, as if he'd just been crying.

"Nick... What's going on? How have you healed yourself? We didn't pick up any med-kits on the way here."

"It's really complicated... It would take a while to explain."

"You can go ahead, I'm all ears."

Nick stared at her for a while, looking rather unsure. His eyes quickly darted left and right, as if he knew they were being watched, but he soon locked eyes with April again and breathed a sigh. "...Okay.. We're friends, so I guess I could tell you. It's a bit complicated, so tell me when you're lost, okay?"

"Alright."

He leaned forward a little and had his hands interlocked together. "..I'm immune to the zombie virus." He said. "I can't get infected no matter how many times they bite me. Now I know this sounds completely crazy, but I'm telling you the truth, I'm immune to it."

"How is that possible? Is it because you're a specific blood group or something?"

"Not exactly. You see, I was involved in experiments in Santa Cabeza when I was really young. I don't exactly know what they did to me, but because of it, the 'worms' as you call them can't live inside of me."

"So they performed some sort of experiment on you, and the end result was that it completely stopped the fertile growth of the zombie larvae, saving your life, yes?"

"When you put it that way, yes."

"But you don't remember what they put in you, or what they injected you with?"

"No. I can't ask them now anyway, they died in the Willamette outbreak."

April tried to think. "...This is a long shot theory, since I don't have enough evidence yet, but I think what they injected you with have made one group of your blood cells advanced, basically they have the ability to kill the larvae and dispose of their remains. What they do with them, I can't work out yet, but that's my theory so far."

Nick shrugged. "Maybe you're right."

"It could be either the red or white blood cells..."

"Hey. I just want to say, thanks for coming to talk to me. I appreciate it."

"Listen, I don't ignore friends in need." Said April.

They hugged eachother again, but it looked a little bit awkward with the table in between them.

"...We really must stop doing this." April laughed. "People are going to start saying things."

"Like what?" Asked Nick.

"Cute." A voice from afar said flatly.

Upon hearing the voice they broke away and spun round. Penelope was standing in the doorway.

Nick stared daggers into her. "What do you want?" He asked bluntly.

"No need to get all defensive. I've got all that I need now." She said.

It didn't take Nick long to realise what she meant. "Y-You... You were listening weren't you?"

"Hush hush, your secret's safe with me. I won't breathe a word of it." She went to the far side of the room. Nick and April both watched her. "Anyways, can you do a small favour for me?"

"What do you want?" April asked innocently.

"I had an idea to hack into the Lydonhole Town Hall, apparently they have diagrams, notes, files, you name it, and all of that will give us a better idea of why this happened and who's behind it." She paused. "Only problem is, it's all physical material. The computer versions have all been wiped."

"How do you know all this?"

Penelope put down a small laptop on the table, and showed them a black screen with small writing on it. "I've been talking with this person known as 'Zoey'. They told me all of this. She said that we'd need a smart person to hack into their security and shut it down. Even in the apocalypse, the place is guarded and monitored heavily."

"Who would be able to do that though? I may be smart when it comes to science and maths, but I'm no computer whizz." April said.

"Same goes for me." Nick added.

A small sound came from the computer as words appeared on the screen.

Zoey: Hello April Freemore.

They froze.

"April? Do you know this girl?" Even Penelope was a little spooked.

April shook her head. "N-No..."

"How the hell does she know you then?" Nick asked, a suspicious look crossed his face.

"I don't know..." She sat down and typed.

Local: Hello?

Zoey: As your friend explained, you will need someone to hack into security. I understand your town doesn't take kindly to breaking and entering.

Local: What should we do?

Zoey: Find someone in town who can shut down those cameras. But watch your back, there are powerful people after you.

Nick gently pushed April out of the way and took control of the keyboard.

Local: Who are you?

-CONNECTION LOST-

"Dammit!" Nick yelled.

"Nice going, Ramos." Penelope sneered.

Nick felt tempted to punch her, but April quickly changed the subject. "Who in this town is good on computers?"

"Hell if I know." Penelope shrugged.

"I've got nothing." Nick let out a groan. "For all we know our last hope could be in another country far away from here."

It was then that it hit her.

"Wait a minute!" April started to pace around the room. "I think there is someone who could help us."

"Who?" Nick leaned towards her, obviously interested.

April stopped and put her hands on the table. "There's a guy I know who goes to my school. He fixes most of the computers there, since they can't afford an electrical engineer. I've seen him hack into some websites and even high security facilities like Phenotrans. Me and him don't talk much, and he's originally from Japan. But he speaks fluent English and I think, with enough convincing, he might help us."

"So are you two sort of friends?"

"More acquaintances. I said hello to him each day, and he slightly smiled back. But we've never had a chat with eachother, he's usually indoors."

"Where is he?" Penelope asked her. "Do you know?"

"Yeah yeah. He lives at number 34 on Cherry Blossom Street." She noticed their flat expressions with narrowed eyes and laughed. "I know."

"Well by the sounds of it, this boy could be crucial to our mission. Go and find him April, try to convince him to join us." Penelope put her arm around Nick's shoulders. "Me and Nick will just chill here for a bit."

Nick glared at her. "You think I've forgiven you for literally threatening to kill me?"

"Oh don't be such a baby. I only threatened to shoot you. Trust me, being shot is a lot more painless than most means of dying."

"I'll be off now. You keep watch for any zombies." April waved goodbye and went out the door.

"Be careful!" Nick shouted after her.

Time until the military arrives: 92 hours, 21 minutes and 3 seconds.

April stood outside a pearl white house with cherry blossom trees either side, gently showering both the pavement and April with their petals. It was surprising that they were growing at this time of year. Normally every single tree's leaves or petals would have turned brown and fallen off by now.

She knocked on the door. "Hide?"

No answer.

She knocked again. "Hide, it's me, April. I need your help."

The door slowly creaked open. April naively walked into the dark house.

 **End of Chapter 5**


	6. Chapter 6: An Unexpected Guest

"Hide?" April called as she walked deeper into the house.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Now she was getting a little panicked. "Hide, it's me. It's okay, you don't have to...hide..."

She walked into a grand hall with cream walls, two staircases, a chandelier, and a big television screen in the middle.

"Just come on out, okay?" She looked around for any sign of him. "I don't want to have to force my way in..." She reached for her guns.

Suddenly, the screen flickered to life, and there, staring right at her, was Hide.

He had brown eyes and short black hair, along with that, he was wearing thin rimmed glasses with a plain black t-shirt on. Hide and April were both the same age, but Hide was extremely more intelligent than April was. He could build a robot that could cook and clean for him in a day, while April could only perform chemical solutions to problems.

"Hide! Hi!" April greeted and waved with a bubbly attitude.

Hide waved back. "Greetings." He said.

April's high spirited mood was soon dampened by Hide's seriousness. She adopted a more mellow tone. "Uhhh... You do know what's going on outside don't you?"

"A natural disaster in which dead corpses are reanimated and loiter around the city for any living humans to eat. In your words, an 'outbreak'."

"Y-Yeah!" She replied. "So, we kind of need your help. I know that you're good with electronics."

"I am."

"So... Could you come and help us? We need a good hacker..."

His eyes flinched a little. He leaned closer. "What would you require me to hack?"

"Lydonhole City Hall."

He stayed silent, just staring at her. Then he swung his chair round and grabbed something off the counter. "I'll have to think about it." He said. "It does take some time to hack into these big facilities and corporations." He pressed something and mechanical whirring filled the air.

"What the hell...?" She glared at him. "What did you just press, Hide?"

"I'm just calling in some support."

Columns with a single marble flower near the top glowed red and fired a laser at April.

She was luckily enough out of the way to miss it, so that it only hit the floor near her left foot.

"Woah! What the fuck!?" She yelled. "Hide, I'm not an intruder! I'm asking for your help!"

Robots on wheels entered into the room, each wielding a machete. Some threw theirs at her, others clutched it tightly.

April tried to dodge these as best as she could, but one of them ended up opening a cut on her cheek.

"Hide-"

But then a chopping sound hovered over her. Many drones were zooming overhead, coming straight for her. They had guns installed onto them, of course, but if ranged wasn't working for them, underneath the whole body was a small but sharp needle. On some of them, the needle was only built to hurt or mildly annoy the victim, but on others, the needle itself was actually a hidden syringe that was filled with either, a sleeping drug, alcohol, or poison.

"What the hell are you doing, Hide!?" April cried.

"I don't know whether the outbreak has changed you or not, and I'm not taking any chances. Maybe we can talk about the hacking I have to do. But that's only if you survive." The screen flickered and Hide's face disappeared.

"HEY! Hide!" But she couldn't protest now. She was surrounded and alone. "Shit! I knew I should've brought that transmitter Nick gave me... God, I'm an idiot.." The robots wasted no time and immediately started moving towards her. "Well, I've got no choice now. I guess I'll just have to mow these guys down!" She aimed her guns and was about to shoot when she paused. "Wait... Hide said that we could talk about the hacking, but only if I survive. He never said anything about destroying all the robots in the room... I have to find him..." She said. "I have to find him!" She looked around the hall. "Hide doesn't want me to destroy all his robots, he wants me to find him!" The robots whirred, clunked and were completely unmoving, as if waiting for her next move. "Where was his room? Gah, I can't remember! He always complained how his room was next to his mother's. I think his mom's room is upstairs..." She started to head up there when suddenly, all the robots came to life.

They were shooting at her, throwing machetes and knives, firing lasers, it was as if she had activated a booby trap or stumbled into a massive war.

April rolled out of the way of fire and crouched behind the staircase. "I've got to find some way to get past them. They'll gun me down quick if I try to take the stairs by force. I don't know if my bullets are going to ricochet off the metal..." She said. "Come on April! Think! Think!"

The laser columns couldn't be avoided, since they were rooted into the ground. But the helicopter and wheeled bots moved around freely, making it easy for them to hit their target.

"Hold on..." April looked out at them. "These bots only came to life when I talked..." She said. Her eyes went wide when she realised it. "They react to sound..." She looked at her melee weapons, and at the doorway leading to another room. "If I throw one of these into another room, it'll buy me some time to get up those stairs. Albeit, a very amount of time, but it's better than just crouching here until they find me." April looked at her almost broken bat. "Goodbye, old friend." She threw it through one of the doorways.

The moment the bat landed, and smashed some plate and cutlery (April had thrown it into the kitchen) the bots turned towards the sound. They processed the sound waves and droned towards the source. The marble columns shut down and went back to being just decoration.

After the bots had gone, April crept up the stairs. She knew if she tried to run up them, the columns would activate again, and the bots would register her sound and come straight for her. She quietly walked up the stairs, sliding against the banister. When she finally got to the top, she quickly opened the doors, went in, closed them behind her and breathed.

She slumped to the floor. "Thank fuck for that..." She said. "I hope Hide will at least listen to me." She got back up and headed straight for his room.

April didn't even knock. She kicked his door down and found him in his chair with his back faced to her.

"What the actual fuck, Hide?" April glared. "I come for your help and you attack me?"

He swung himself round slowly, until he faced her. "I had to be sure."

"Of what!? You had to be sure that I wasn't a fucking psychopath!?"

Hide got out of his chair and knelt down on the floor. "Go on. Kill me."

April looked at him, confused. "W-What?"

"Kill me." He repeated. "You're mad at me, I get that. Are you angry enough to kill me?" He opened his arms. "Go ahead and do it, I've not got much to live for anyway."

April was giving him a sorts of glares. Rage filled ones, confused ones. Why would he surrender so easily? Did he really have nothing to live for?

April had her broadsword raised, and it looked like she was about to deliver the final blow. But she suddenly looked at him sadly. She dropped her sword and offered him her hand.

"Hide.." She began. "I don't want a kill you, I came here because I need your help, not your blood."

Hide gave a small smile to her and took her hand. He stood up. "You have done well."

"Huh?"

"I was willing to help you, as long as you weren't broken by the outbreak. The fact that you decided to spare me instead of kill me after what I put you through proves that you still have some sanity inside of you." He pressed the same button on his remote and shut down all of the robots in the house. He grabbed a katana and a shotgun. "So, where is your base of operations?" He asked as he was loading it.

"The church on top of the hill. You know the place?"

"I think so. The one with that red and blue stain glass window of Mary, right?"

"That's the one."

He turned to her, shotgun in hand and katana by his waist. "Shall we be off?"

April was about to say yes when she spotted a blueprint on the floor. She picked it up and looked at it. "Hide..." She said. "Can I take this? My friend is a mechanic, so he could make this."

Hide took a quick look at the blueprint. "Sure sure. Just be careful with it. It's an old sketch I did, so it could easily get ruined."

She nodded. "I'll keep it safe." She beckoned him out. "Come on, let's go, we can't keep them waiting."

"Them? Do you have an entire team with you?" Hide asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Yeah. I'll introduce you once we get there."

They got to the door and stopped.

"Are you ready?"

He aimed his shotgun. "Yes."

"Alright." She walked to the door. "Looks like it's going to be one hell of a party!" She kicked it open and they stormed out with their guns blazing.

Time until the military arrives: 92 hours, 5 minutes and 23 seconds.

Penelope sat in one of the pews, typing to Zoey on the computer, while Nick paced up and down the aisle, worried for April.

"It's been more than 10 minutes..." Said Nick. "Where is she?"

Penelope looked up from her laptop. "The fact that you're becoming this attached to her is a little disturbing."

Nick stopped and stared at her. "I care about her, okay? She's the closest friend I've got in this apocalypse."

"Care is an understatement. You're literally acting like the girl's father."

"Yeah, well, maybe I'm just... Preparing myself." He looked down at the floor and closed his eyes. "Por favor hágale estar bien. No puedo conectarme a través de este sin ella.."

She smiled at him. "You know, some girls like a man who can fluently speak Spanish. Especially a buff one." She winked.

Nick spun round. "B-Buff?"

"Yeah. Where'd you get all that muscle, handsome?" She teased.

His cheeks went red with embarrassment. "S-Stop it.. I have a girlfriend, your flirts won't work on me."

"I'm only kidding. Really though, how did you get that body?"

Nick flexed one of his muscles. "After the Los Perdidos outbreak, I started working out a bit. I don't remember why, maybe I didn't like the way I looked?"

"You look fine to me." She stood up and cupped his face. "I'd date that face. Those big innocent eyes, that chiseled jawline, also that-"

Nick grabbed both her arms and pulled them down. "Stop." He said firmly. "I don't like to be touched like that."

She respected his personal space and backed off. "You're really loyal to your girlfriend then?"

"Of course! After all we went through in Los Perdidos, dating her is the best reward for surviving I can get. I promised I wouldn't cheat on her, ever, not when we've got a little one on the way..."

The wooden church doors burst open.

Penelope and Nick both looked in the direction of the sound and saw April and a boy standing there.

"April!" Nick cried. He ran up to her, noticing her cut on her cheek. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" April pushed his hand away. "It's only a small cut."

"You sure? You don't hurt anywhere else?"

"No no! I only got hurt by a machete to the cheek, that was all."

"A machete!?" He exclaimed.

"Yes." Hide replied. "It was intentionally built to open more wounds on the victim, but April only received one. I should try to find the problem behind that, and update all my bots."

Nick stared in confusion at the new boy. "...who the hell is this?"

"Oh sorry! I forgot, I didn't tell you his name." April gestured to him. "This is Hide. Former student from Japan. He can still speak some Japanese, you know."

He bowed his head. "こんにちは。 私は一緒に私達はすべてを得ることができることを期待。"

Nick just stared at him. He turned to April. "Okay, I'm lost already, what the hell did he just say?"

"I could translate one part of it as "Hello", but other than that I'm as clueless as you are."

"Well, anyway, it's nice to have you on the team, Hide. I'm Nick, by the way."

"Pleasure to meet you, Nick." Hide looked over at Penelope. "Is that what I must use to hack into the building?"

"Oh you're the hacker boy, of course." Penelope handed him the laptop. "Could you disable the cameras in the city hall? There's documents in there that we desperately need."

Hide sat down with the laptop and started typing on it. Penelope, Nick and April had their gazes fixed on the screen. Hide furrowed his brow. "I'm seeing a lot of firewalls. I could get rid of those, but that would take some time."

"How long are we talking?"

"6 hours at the most. Along with that, if I were to break through the firewalls and shut down the cameras, they would only be off for a couple of hours. So you would have to run in there, get the documents, and run back out."

"City Hall is a big place..." April frowned. "We'd have to know it well if we want to get in and get out without being caught."

"Is it really that big?" Nick asked.

"Yes. It has three floors, and about 117 rooms, which are all pretty complicated to navigate. Nearly all of them have at least 3 doors leading to who-the-fuck-knows. Only someone with a map of the place or who works there would be able to directly pin-point where the office with the documents are. And it's not like we can just waltz into City Hall and just casually get a map. They're with the military, and if the military are gunning down all survivors, there's no doubt the guys up at City Hall will do the same."

"So we'll have to plan this..." Penelope pondered. "Right. I'll go out, and see if I can find someone who works there, maybe they could sketch a map of the place for us. While I'm away, you can go and rescue more survivors, April."

"I'd rather that I had someone with me. It does get lonely out there, and I had a brush with death last time I faced a psychopath."

With no hesitation, Nick came to her side. "I'll go with you."

Penelope rolled her eyes. "I knew he'd volunteer immediately..." She thought. But smiled at them both. "Nice. How can you go wrong with a scientist and a mechanic? You two do make a cute duo after all."

Nick and April stared at a eachother awkwardly.

"W-What.."

"Now, get out of here. Me and Hide will try and locate any alive employees." She held up a transceiver. "We'll call you if we make any progress."

"Alright. We'll see you later then, I guess." Nick started walking towards the door. "Come on. I'll keep you safe." He said to April, as they walked back out into the world together.

When they were outside April suddenly remembered the blueprints.

"Nick!" She called as he was walking off.

He stopped in his tracks and turned round. "What? What is it?"

"I found this in Hide's house." She gave him the blueprint. "Do you think you could make it?"

Nick was studying it for a while. He walked around in absolute silence, absorbed in the blueprint. After 5 minutes he looked up from it. "...I could make a bigger version of this."

"You can?" She came over to him and looked at the blueprint.

"Yeah... Yeah!" He pointed at it. "If we got the right scraps of metal and the right resources, we could attach this to the roof of our car."

"And get out of here!?"

"Yes. We could destroy the rubble and get out of here!" Nick couldn't contain his happiness. He showed a bubbly smile. "And when we're out, I could get back to my girlfriend and maybe we could go look for your mom."

"Oh my god..." She laughed. "Is... Is this really happening?"

"It is. We're going to be free soon!" He grinned.

"What will we need for the bigger version?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll have to discuss some of it with Hide. But still, if this does work, we could get out, all of us!" Nick was so happy that he actually started laughing.

"Nick, are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine." Nick replied. "I'm just really excited, you know? I'm going to see my girlfriend again.."

April walked down the hill with him, still a little giddy from the excitement. "Why do you love her so much?"

"Because she's... She's beautiful, and smart, and funny... I think if you saw her, then you'd understand."

"Maybe. But I've seen anyone this dedicated to a girl before."

"She's my first girlfriend I've ever had. I never went into any of those strip clubs when I was feeling down, I wasn't into that stuff. And I'm still not today."

"Same here. But I'm still confused about my preference. Some boys are handsome to me, but then again, I find some girls hot too..." She said. "I remember I had to take photos of a girl in lingerie for my school project, and I couldn't stop looking at her body..."

"Did she notice you doing it?"

"Yeah, yeah she noticed. I know because she said "I can feel your eyes on me" it was so embarrassing, I nearly got pulled off the project because of it."

"Did you talk to her about it afterwards?"

"No. I was too mortified to even look at her, you know?"

"...Hey. Maybe she's not turned or dead." Nick assured. "We could still go and find her, and maybe you could apologise to her then."

"Maybe..."

From there April was in her own little world, still walking alongside Nick but daydreaming about the girl. Could she really make it up to her? Maybe the girl thought she was a pervert. After all she was-

"APRIL!"

She quickly snapped back into reality, and saw a motorcycle racing towards her for a split second before being quickly spun round and pulled towards something.

She panted, and looked up to see Nick holding her close, in almost a tight hug.

He looked down at her, making sure she was okay, before looking where the motorcycle had come from. "...Oh shit..." His eyes went wide as he said this.

April looked too, and saw an army of motorcycles riding at high speed towards them. The riders didn't look like a friendly sort, and had broken wine bottles and steel balls made of nails.

Nick quickly separated from April and grabbed her hand. "We need to run!" He yelled at her. "Come on!" Then he ran while dragging her along.

The gang cheered and laughed, throwing anything from lighted cocktails to shards of glass at them.

Nick tried his best to protect April from all of these. Even going so far as to push April out of the way of flying shards, so that he would be hit and not her.

But this was a wrong move, as a young man launched himself onto April and pinned her down. He wasn't planning on hurting her, oh no, he had other plans.

"Hey!" Nick shouted. "Let her go!" He was running to her aid, but another gang member blocked his way, and followed where he went so that he couldn't get through.

"Oh ho ho ho!" The gang member laughed. "I've got a lucky catch today, eh Todd?"

"You said it Mitch!" He continued to block Nick's path.

"Guys, I told you to let her go!" Nick kept moving, desperately trying to get past him.

The gang member, known as Mitch, had April's hands pinned, and was studying her quite closely. "What's your cup size, hun?"

April replied by spitting in his face and continuing to struggle. "Fuck off!"

Mitch reacted to this poorly, by punching her hard in the face.

Nick saw this, and grew angrier. "Let me through, right now!"

"Or what, you pussy? You gonna tell your mommy on us?" Todd danced around, still blocking his path.

To Nick, this felt like deja vu. Back in Los Perdidos, Rhonda and Nick were in this exact situation. But Rhonda was strong enough and old enough to fend for herself. April was only a teenage girl, so grown men would naturally be a challenge for her to fend off.

"Hey, Todd." Said Mitch. "I think she's still a virgin, she looks old enough too. Now I haven't done this ever since my ex so..."

Upon hearing this, Nick stopped moving and stared. And when he finally processed it all, his face darkened with rage.

He violently pushed Todd out of the way and rushed towards Mitch with his Sledgesaw.

"Mitch! Look out!" Yelled Todd.

But it was too late. Nick shoved Mitch off of April and then smashed his head into bloody chunks with the sledgehammer part of his weapon. Because he was so angry, he smashed up the rest of his body too, even though he was already dead. All that was left of Mitch now was a bloody mess.

Nick panted and stared at it. He looked at April and held his hand out to her, to which she gladly took it. Once she was up, Nick got out a rifle and stood in front of April with it aimed.

He angrily stared at all of the gang members. "Take a step towards me. I FUCKING DARE YOU."

None of them moved. They looked at him in shock.

Nick stared them down, rifle steadily aimed. "...Get out of here." He finally said.

After a long moment of silence, Nick started shooting near their feet in a threatening manner. One of them yelped and scrambled away.

"I said, get the FUCK out of here."

Frightened of what he would do next, they all ran away, leaving their cycles behind.

When they had gone, Nick lowered his weapon, and breathed. He turned to April. "...Are you okay?"

She nodded silently.

He gave her a little smile. "That's good."

"Nick..." April looked shocked. "I didn't realise you had your limit..." "Yeah, well... No one hurts my friends and gets away with it. Especially not you." He was looking down at the ground as he said this, but soon met April's eyes again. "There's only so much I can take, you know? And the Los Perdidos outbreak has taught me that I can't cower in a corner and wait for help."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Yeah." She sighed. "I wish I was strong like you, then I could've pushed him off me and beat him up."

Nick put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I could try and train you if you'd like."

"Train me? You'd really do that?"

"Yeah! Though, I've never taught anyone before so... Just be patient with me, alright?"

She laughed. "Okay. I'm not the hot headed sort so don't worry."

Nick giggled. He suddenly look a little sad for a moment, but dropped it quickly. He patted her on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're with me, April."

"Me too."

Nick smiled at her. "..We should... Go somewhere, or do something... You know? Just to pass the time, until Penelope and Hide call us."

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. You thirsty or hungry at all?"

"I'm a little peckish I guess."

"I know a good cafe not far from here. They do the best milkshakes. Or... They used to do the best milkshakes... But I could probably still make them like they used to!"

"Great. We should head there and grab something. Then we'll continue looking for survivors."

"Sounds like a plan!"

They were about to head off when a small chuckle came from behind them.

"I've finally found you."

Nick fell over as a ring of fire sealed April in. The flames licked April's skin and were burning strong

Nick stood up and stared at the fire. "What the fuck!?"

April was slightly panicking. "I can't jump over this, and I don't have anything to put out the flames."

"Just hold on, I'm going to get a fire extinguisher and I'll get you out! Stay where you are, okay? I'll be right back!" Nick ran towards the nearest store.

Some guns clicked behind her.

April took a sharp breath. "I guess this is what Zoey meant..."

She turned around.

 **End of Chapter 6**


	7. Chapter 7: The Show Must Go On

A man with dark brown hair was standing before her, wearing a black leather jacket and dark sunglasses, so dark that you couldn't even see his eyes through them. His hair was short but roughed up, possibly from fighting looters or zombies. He also wore light brown jeans and small formal looking boots. He looked much older than April, at least 30, and was carrying two pistols in his hand, strangely they were the same model as April's.

When he spoke again, his voice was formal and British, this man must've been a tourist or perhaps something far more dangerous.

"You're the target, little girl?" He asked.

"T-Target...? What?"

"Ah, my apologies." He was weirdly polite around anyone, even those he was supposed to kill. "I was told to kill a girl named April Freemore. That is you, isn't it?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a yes."

April started sweating slightly. Zoey wasn't exaggerating when she said that there were important people after her. But, why would they want to murder a young girl?

"But, ah, they never told me that I was meant to assassinate a child. Paid me good money for it too..." He looked at his guns as if they were toys or treasured trinkets. "Well, we might as well get it over with, yes? And when it's done, I think I'll just go have a jolly good cup of tea if you don't mind."

April saw that she had no other choice. It was him or her. She drew her guns. "I won't go down easily, so be prepared to put up a fight... Man."

He curtly laughed. "..."Man"? Oh please my dear girl, I do have a name you know." He aimed his guns. "The name is Axel. Special Government Agent, at your service."

"G-Government Agent!?" She looked scared for a second, but quickly steeled her face. "Who sent you?"

"Now now, listen girl, I'll give you the information you need, if you can defeat me that is."

April smirked. "Alright, bring it on, I'm not afraid of you!"

"We'll see about that..." He had a smug look on his face as he stood opposite of her, ready to shoot.

Psychopath RIVAL: Axel Reksew

They circled eachother, careful to not get too close to the fire and both staring the other down. How tough could this guy be? April knew a few moves from her father so she was at least somewhat safe. But this guy was a government agent, so there was no doubt that he would have some tricks up his sleeve.

"Last chance to go down willingly, girl. You'll save yourself a lot, trust me."

"You don't scare me! I'll fight to the bitter end!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you..." He gritted his teeth and took careful aim.

The second he started shooting at her April was also firing her guns back at him. But the bullets themselves were ricocheting off of eachother, so both April and Axel had to keep moving, otherwise they would be hit regardless. Axel was surprisingly athletic and flexible, bending backwards to avoid the bullets. April was surprised that he was able to bend his whole body that far, it looked like his spine would snap at any moment, but it never did and he simply stood up straight again once the bullet had passed.

As they kept firing, a zombie reached out for Axel, causing him to put away one of his guns, grab the zombie by one hand, and throw it in between him and April.

The moment the zombie stood up, it was pelted by bullets, and its body jerked this way and that with all the gunfire it was taking.

"So," Axel casually began, "it appears you know how to use a gun. Very interesting..."

"Cut the crap, Axel, can't you at least give me some clue of who sent you?"

"Alright. The one who sent me, was a human being."

"Oh, yeah, that really helps." She said sarcastically. "I could have visited every house in Lydonhole and gotten a better idea than what you've given me."

"Well I'm sorry, cupcake, but I've got to stick to my contract. Clause 7 dictates that I can't divulge information willingly."

"Does every government agent have a boring contract to follow?"

"Yes unfortunately. But you only have to skim through it and they'll accept you anyway. We're doing the fun part right now."

The zombie in between them exploded and all that was left of it was at least 3 litres of blood on the ground.

"I don't think this is working, do you?" He put away his guns. "None of our bullets are hitting eachother, and frankly I'm parched." He was about to say something else, but a sharp kick in the face with both feet cut him off, and sent him flying. He landed on the pavement near the other end of the flaming circle.

April quickly got back onto her feet. "I can use more than just guns, you know."

Axel sat up and wiped his mouth. When he noticed that it was bleeding he simply shot a smug smile at April. "Alright, so I underestimated you, quite heavily." He stood back up and brought out his fists. "How about we settle this the old fashioned way? If you win, I'll give you the information you need."

"And if you win?"

"I kill you. With my gun. Isn't life just a wonderful thing?"

"It would be even better without you in the picture."

Axel cocked his head at her, but kept smiling. He slowly started walking up to her, presumably saving his energy for the fist to fist fight that was coming up.

April nearly jumped out of her skin when he finally lunged at her after a few seconds of death like stillness, but she quickly blocked his attacks and tried to hit him with some of her own.

They were evenly matched, with April trying every move in the book, and Axel hitting her with all he had. There were many punches, kicks, headbutts, and even strangling or spitting at some points. But through it all, they couldn't land a decent hit on one another.

April performed a roundhouse kick that hit Axel in the face and sent him to the floor. Just when he was about to get up, April pulled her gun out and aimed it straight at him.

She huffed, face covered in blood and her neck raw and bruised. "This...can't go on...forever...Axel..." She shakily aimed it at his head. "Tell me...who sent you... NOW..."

Axel's eyes were fully concentrated on the gun. He looked behind her and saw Nick running out of the store, fire extinguisher in hand. He took something out of his pocket and smiled at her. "The one who sent me was General Vandon."

"...My Dad's-"

Axel threw the mysterious object on the floor and smoke buried him.

"H-Hey!" She shot where he was laying, but once the smoke had cleared, there was no sign of Axel anywhere. Looking up, April could see him running off, he was too far for her to start chasing him however.

"...Shit...!" She punched the ground in rage. "What the hell is going on!? Why would he want ME dead?"

"April!"

She stood up and looked behind her to see Nick with a fire extinguisher.

"Nick! Oh I'm so glad you're here! I got attacked by someone called Axel."

"Attacked?" He glared where Axel had run off. "Well he's lucky I wasn't here. I would have bashed his fucking skull in." He held up the fire extinguisher. "Sorry I took so long. I thought I saw Annie in the store. Turns out it was just a mannequin that looked like her. Just sit tight, I'll have you out in a minute."

"Wait why did you get a fire-" She looked around and remembered the fire that was surrounding her. Her encounter with Axel had made her completely forget about the raging flames. "O-Oh..." She felt weak at her knees.

"April? You okay?"

Her whole face went white, as she looked into the fire, terrified. Her body started to wobble unsteadily.

"Shit." He fired up the extinguisher and put out the flames.

Just as he'd put out the last of the fire circle, April's eyes closed, and her body toppled backwards.

"Hey! HEY!" He rushed to her, and luckily caught her before she hit the ground. "April, can you hear me? April!" He checked her pulse and frowned. "She's fainted... Poor thing..."

After a minute had passed, April started stirring and opened her eyes again.

"N-Nick?"

"Yeah, it's me." He smiled. "Are you alright?"

She moved her arm a little, and bit her lip while inhaling a sharp breath.

"What's wrong!?"

"M-My shoulder... Nick...it hurts...it hurts so much..."

He looked at her right shoulder, and saw shards of glass had cut through her coat and shirt, and were buried deep into her skin. One big shard stuck out of her shoulder, and glinted.

"Oh my god..."

"Nick...Nick, it hurts..." She whimpered.

Nick tried to pull it out with his bare hands, but that caused blood to surface from the wound and April to scream.

"Shit, it's too deep..."

April was actually sobbing into Nick's shoulder. "It hurts...it hurts...make the pain go away..."

"Stay with me, April! We'll find a First Aid Kit or something..."

"I think there's one...in..."

"In where?"

"In that cafe I was talking about..." Her grip around Nick tightened. "It hurts Nick...it hurts...it feels like daggers..."

"I know, I know." He stood up and carried her. "Hold on tight, okay? It's going to be a bumpy ride." He ran as fast as he could up the road.

April jolted around in Nick's tight grip, but held onto him for dear life. He evaded the zombie's claws and teeth, and zoomed through like a speeding car.

After he turned the corner he quickly looked round.

"Now where?" He clutched April in his arms. "Do you remember where it is?"

April pointed with her right arm, but it was excruciatingly painful so her arm was shaking rapidly. "O-Over there... The one with the neon sign..." She cried out as her arm went dead. "Oh my god...it hurts so much Nick...it fucking hurts..."

"Hang in there, we're almost at the cafe." He continued to run.

One zombie nearly got them, but Nick violently kicked it to the ground and stomped on its head before pushing the cafe door open and heading inside.

He quickly placed April in one of leather coaches before searching round.

"April, do you know where they keep it?"

"K-Kitchen..." She replied.

Nick disappeared behind counter, and was surprised to find pots, pans, and cutlery all over the floor. He waded through as best as he could, and searched all the walls.

"Come on...come on..." He kicked most of the pots and pans out of the way in frustration.

This was quite a big kitchen for a cafe. To Nick, it was almost like a maze of white tiles.

Finally, he saw a pearl white box with a red cross on it stuck to the wall.

Nick immediately raced up to it and hastily opened it.

He got what he needed and then rushed back to April.

"April! April, I've found it!" When he came out, he saw April sobbing silently and clutching her shoulder.

He sat beside her, gloves and bandages in hand. "I found the kit, April. We can get those shards out of your shoulder now."

April was a wreck. Tears were running down her reddened cheeks, and her eyes were raw and puffy. She looked away from Nick. "I can't do this Nick... It hurts...and now I'm crying in front of you...which is cowardly on its own...and...and..." Sobs kept interrupting her words as she tried to string them together.

"Shh shh..." Nick comforted her. "It's okay to cry, adults cry all the time." He slipped on the gloves and beckoned her. "Okay April, I need you to lay your head on my shoulder."

She tilted her head and laid it on his right shoulder. "Like this?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Alright, listen to me carefully April, I'm going to need you to be brave while I do this, okay? Because, I'm not going to lie to you, this will hurt." He held onto her with his right arm. "Try not to scream, and try not to yell."

She scarcely looked at his left hand heading towards her shoulder, and started trembling.

Nick withdrew his hand and turned to her again. "Hey, hey, listen." He said. "I can see you, and you can see me. I'm not going to let anything or anyone hurt you after this."

She was still shivering in fear, and clung to him tightly.

"Just keep looking at me, okay? Don't pay attention to where my hand is going, keep looking at me." Once she had locked her eyes onto his face he reached for her shoulder. "That's it..." He took his eyes off her for a second to make sure his fingers got hold of one of the smaller shards.

April started shaking at the thought of the bigger one being pulled out.

"Shh shh, I'm here, you don't have to worry." His fingers wrapped around the shard. "Okay, I'm about to pull it out. 1... 2... 3." He yanked it out as fast as he could.

April shut her eyes tightly and clenched her teeth as a long lasting sting echoed through her nerves.

Nick placed the bloodied shard on the table. "There we go... That wasn't so bad was it? We've only got 3 more to go."

"Am I b-bleeding?"

Nick looked over. "Only a little... But no major bleeding."

This continued for at least 6 minutes. Nick distracted her from the pain with questions like: "Do you like cats or dogs?" and "What's your favourite hang out spot?".

"W-Well..." April flinched as he pulled another shard out. "I like going to the forest a lot of times. That place is pretty cool."

"There's a forest here?"

"Yeah. It's what Lydonhole is famous for. You didn't know about it?"

"Nope."

"Wow, you're an outsider all right."

Nick put the shard next to the other two. He was about to reach for the last one when he noticed the absolute terror and dread in April's face. "You know which one I'm about to pull out, don't you?"

"The one that's in too deep, right?"

"Yeah."

"H-How big is it?"

"I'd say about... Roughly 8 or 9 centimetres."

"Shit..." She began trembling again.

"This is probably going to hurt, a lot. But you've got to be brave, okay? For me."

"I'll try, Nick."

Nick took a deep breath. "I'm going to start counting. Once I reach 3 I'm going to pull it out as quickly as I can. Then I'll get your coat off and bandage you up, alright?" He focused on the glaring shard in his grip. "1..." April closed her eyes tightly. "2..." Her heart started beating in her chest like a drum as she waited for the agonising pain to kick in. "3!" It got stuck halfway, which caused April to nearly scream the entire place down, but Nick eventually managed to pull it out.

He couldn't waste any time. Blood was gushing from the wound, and dripping all over the leather coach. Nick quickly put down the large shard and ripped April's coat off.

April was now weeping. A river of tears ran down her face from both eyes.

"It's okay, April, it's okay." He kept saying to her as he bandaged her shoulder. When he'd finished, he grabbed her by the shoulders. "Hey!" This made her stop crying and look up at him. "It's okay, April, it's over." He said softly to her. "I won't let you go through that ever again."

"Promise?"

He wiped a tear from her eye. "I promise."

She examined the bandages around her right shoulder.

"Hopefully, it'll heal in a few days. But for now, we're going have to keep you bandaged up."

April looked in despair at her shoulder. How could she shoot properly with her shoulder out of action?

Nick looked over at the counter. "Oh, they've got cakes."

April turned her eyes towards the counter as well when she heard him say this. "Oh yeah..."

He started to get up. "Do you want one?"

April looked as if she was fumbling for the words. She did want one, but she didn't want to look needy or lazy by not standing up and getting the sweet treat herself.

"U-Uhhh... I... Maybe...?"

Nick started laughing. "Look April, it's okay. I can get it for you."

"You really don't mind?"

"No, not at all." He sat back down by her side. "Can you point to the one you want?"

April lifted her left arm and pointed.

He nodded. "Alright. I might get one too, I've got a bit of a sweet tooth myself." He stood back up and walked over.

April noticed the TV connected to the beam above the counter and called over. "Nick! Is there a remote?"

Nick took a quick look behind the counter. "...Yeah! It's right here!" He held it up so she could see it.

"Try turning on the TV! Maybe there's some more news on this outbreak."

He pressed a button on the remote and television flickered to life. "Damn it... It's just commercials right now, but I think we're on the right channel."

He gathered the sweets while April sat back and watched the screen.

She got startled when she suddenly saw a plate with Red Velvet Cake in front of her.

Nick bowed slightly. "For you, Madame." He said quite poshly.

April laughed. "Is that the best British accent you can do?"

"Yeah, pretty much." He laughed as well and sat down. "Nothin' like a good cuppa tea, ay guvnor?" This made them both burst out laughing.

"...Okay...that was pretty good!" She giggled.

"What can I say? I try."

April sat up straight and proud. "Mornin' guv! And where shall we be off to, this fine day?"

"I've got a shillin' for a carriage ride! Put on yer top hat, my jolly old chap!"

And there they sat giggling at their bad British accents while the commercials rolled by on the TV.

April actually had tears in her eyes. "Oh my god... It's so bad it's hilarious! This is the most fun I've had in ages."

"Same here." He said. "We can't have much fun because of my girlfriend's dad. He's kind of...protective of her."

"That's understandable." She ate a little bit of her cake. "Why would he want me dead..."

"Who? My girlfriend's dad?"

"No no, Axel told me that General Vandon sent him to kill me. But why?"

"Wait, that man was an assassin!?"

"A special government agent actually."

"What!?" He looked shocked, but his face turned serious after a few seconds. "That's not good. Why would they send someone so important to murder a young girl?"

"I don't know... Maybe it was because the government told him to?"

"It still doesn't make sense though. Why would they want to kill you, and you specifically?"

"I really don't know..."

"This is a lot deeper than just zombies... What are they trying to do?"

"General Vandon is my Dad's friend... I met him once, when I was really young, and he seemed like a nice guy, why would he want to kill me?"

"I wish we both knew, April..."

A sharply dressed woman appeared on the screen. "We have urgent news regarding the Lydonhole outbreak..."

Both Nick and April looked at the TV with curiosity.

"We have received information that the army carrier, heading for Lydonhole, has broken down in Colorado. General Vandon and his troops are currently waiting for their engineers to fix the problem."

April clasped her mouth. "Oh my god... Do you think Dad..."

"Once again, General Vandon urges all survivors to prepare for the next couple of days. He states that once the military have gotten into Lydonhole, chipping and evacuation will follow. More updates on this story will come later on in the day. But for now, here's Candace with the weather."

Nick and April stared at eachother in bewilderment and confusion.

"This isn't the first time the military have lied." Said Nick. "And it certainly won't be the last."

"Do you think maybe...Dad caused that breakdown?"

"It's very likely. He said that he was going to try and cause one."

Suddenly, April's phone started ringing. The word "Dad" was above, but it was showing Nick and April on the screen.

Nick was utterly confused. He'd never seen a phone do this before. "What the fuck? What's it doing?"

"Dad's calling us. He wants to talk and see us at the same time basically."

"But it's showing us?"

"Here, let me answer it." She pressed the answer button and a familiar grey haired figure appeared on the phone screen.

"Hello sweetheart." He said.

"Oh my god!" Nick jumped back in the leather coach.

April and her dad stared at Nick.

"...Nick it's just my Dad."

"Yeah, but how are we seeing and talking to him at the same time!? What manner of technological sorcery is this!?"

April's Dad sighed. "...So my daughter is with a caveman. Great."

"Hey, I can hear you."

"I know." He turned to April. "I'm going to be honest with you honey, Nick doesn't actually look as bad as I thought he would."

"H-Hey!"

"What do you mean by that, Dad?"

"Well, judging by his voice, I expected him to be a lot younger, and somewhat emo." He replied. "But he looks alright. His hair could use a brush though." His eyes widened when he noticed the cakes. "Wait... Red velvet cake... ARE YOU TWO ON A DATE RIGHT NOW!?"

"NO! No!" Cried Nick. "I already have a girlfriend! And April is, what, 14?"

"15."

"Yeah, she's 15! WAY too young for me."

"Hrmm..." He paused. "...Okay, but you'd better be right Nick. Because if you went on a date with my daughter behind my back..."

"Dad, listen, he's good looking, but not my type."

Nick sharply turned his head towards her. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

Her father chuckled. "You've got him right where you want him kiddo."

Nick couldn't decide who to glare at. "Can you both quit it? I'm not a punching bag you know!"

"Alright, alright. We'll stop. Just get out the maracas and play a tune for us, will you?"

"Guys!"

"Fine! Fine! Ahem, anyway, onto the serious stuff."

"Dad, we saw on the news that your vehicle broke down. Was that you?"

He nodded. "Certainly was, sweetheart."

"How long do you think it will be until they fix it?"

"6 or 7 hours maybe. I know it's not much time, but please spend it wisely." He suddenly jerked his body and looked behind him.

"What is it?"

"...Nothing. I just thought there was someone watching me." He faced April and Nick again. "So, any progress?"

"Oh yeah! Me and Nick are working on something to break down the pile of rubble blocking our way out."

"Really? Heh, you're just full of surprises aren't you?" He said. "You know, I know some places where you could get some useful parts."

"You do?" Nick said, with curiosity.

"Yeah. April, you got a map with you?"

"Right here." She laid it out on the table.

"How about a marker?"

She produced one from her pocket. "Yep."

Her dad chuckled. "My my, April Freemore, you would make your mom proud."

"I wasn't intending on letting my grades slip."

"Alright. The places are: Aster's Garage, Nails n' Screws-"

"Someone blew up that place Dad."

"Wait, you mean Nails n' Screws? Shit, who in the world would do that?"

"We don't know. But they blew up the school as well." Said Nick.

"Jesus... Have some crazed looters actually gotten their hands on explosives?"

"...Anyway, Dad, what about these places where we could find parts?"

"Oh yeah! Yeah! Um, where was I? Ah yes, Nails n' Screws... That convenience store across the road of our house... Lydonhole hall could have some useful parts, a lot of concerts are held there."

April marked these locations down on the map as he said them.

"Oh! And look out for any maintenance rooms! Our mayor luckily had them built into buildings in the town. They shouldn't be hard to spot, they have a wrench icon for a sign."

"Do you know where any of these maintenance rooms are?"

"There's one near the plaza, and another just outside your school. There should be more throughout the town." He looked behind himself quickly. "I have to go now, they could see me talking to you at any second. I'll call you back when I can."

"Alright, thanks Dad."

"Your welcome, sweetheart. And Nick..."

"Yeah?"

"You'd better take good care of my daughter." He said sternly. "If I find her bruised or missing a limb, I'm taking one of yours, got it?"

Nick put on his brave face, though he was terrified on the inside. "Got it."

"Good." He laid back in his chair, satisfied. "Well, I gotta go, bye sweetheart."

"Bye Dad."

His face disappeared and all that was left was a blank screen.

"S-So..." Nick swallowed. "You think I'm good looking?"

"Yeah, you're pretty handsome I guess." She shrugged.

"...Thanks. Not many people tell me that..."

April just giggled. "You really are funny sometimes Nick."

"I'm serious! Only my girlfriend and some other girls have told me that."

She smiled. "You do make me laugh, Nick." She ruffled his hair. "Good thing we're friends, eh?"

"Y-Yeah." He replied.

"We should probably get going now. I'm done, how about you?"

"Yeah, I'm done too."

"Alright, let's go."

They got up and walked out of the cafe.

"Nick..." April said as they were walking through the streets. "I'm still wondering about that thing on your neck."

"Hm? Oh, you mean my number?"

"Yeah. Why is 12 tattooed on your neck? Is it something to do with those experiments you were in?"

"Well, let's just say I had many different names before becoming Nick." He said.

She was about to ask something else, but suddenly a cloth went over her mouth and someone grabbed her from behind.

Nick saw this all happen. "April!" He reached out for her, but someone from behind injected something into his neck, and he fell to the floor unconscious.

April screamed and yelled, but it wasn't long until she smelled the liquid on the cloth, and passed out.

The two girls high fived eachother, before the blonde one picked up a transceiver.

"Do you have them?" Asked a husky voice.

"We do, sir." She replied.

"Excellent. Bring them here. I would like to see a certain someone."

"On our way sir." She put it in her pocket and picked up April.

When the other girl had Nick, they both walked off with them, carrying them to the unknown.

The repetitive ticking of a clock is the first thing April heard when she woke up. After she felt her surroundings she realised that she was sitting on a chair, facing a desk in front of her. She still felt drowsy so her vision was a little blurred.

She could just about see a young man in what looked like a fur coat pouring something into a glass.

"You're finally awake." He chuckled. "That's good, I've been wanting to talk to you ever since this started."

"W-What...?"

"Don't try and talk, April. You're still recovering from the chloroform." He carefully placed a glass of water in her hands. "Drink this, it will make you feel better."

She tried to look at him, though her vision was still hazy. "I swear I know you from somewhere..."

After blinking a few times she could see the smile on his face. "You don't recognise me?"

She blinked again, and stared in disbelief.

"B-Ben...?"

It was Ben from school. He had dumped his hoodie and was wearing a brown fur coat and a gold chain around his neck.

"Took you a while." Ben played with his chain. "Do you like my new look?"

"It's...nice, I guess."

"Your vision must still be blurry. I picked these out for the show."

"What show?"

He grinned at her as he produced a remote. "Terror is Reality: Rebooted."

He pressed a button and the huge room behind the glass window was bathed in spotlights. Ben and April was in an office above this room. The office came with a rectangle scenic window, where they could look out and watch the show unfold.

"Ben... What is this?" She asked, still a little dazed from the chloroform.

Ben helped her get to the window. "This is my film project." He answered. "I plan on getting survivors and pitting them against zombies."

"B-Ben, you-"

"I'm going to make the stakes even higher, higher than T.K's original show." He spoke triumphantly. "There'll be drama, romance, bloodshed, zombies being gored out in more ways, ambition, and lust for the grand prize. Isn't it beautiful, April? I'll get an A+ on this project for sure."

"Ben there's an outbreak going on. We don't have time for this."

"We have all the time in the world. Besides, the outbreak has helped me gather zombies and Queens."

"Queens? Are you out of your fucking mind!? They're the wasps with the infection!"

He put his arm around her shoulder. "How about I give you a little taster?" He picked up a microphone. "Bring him out, ladies."

Two young girls in very revealing dresses came out. They were dragging someone with them.

April immediately recognised their captive. "Nick!"

Nick was unaware of what was going on, but he knew it was something bad. He had his hands tied behind his back and he was blindfolded.

He blindly struggled, but to no avail.

"Here comes our first contestant ladies and gentlemen. Not exactly a looker, is he?"

Nick was looking this way and that. "Where the hell are you, you son of a bitch!?"

"Ooh, he's a feisty one."

"What have you done with April!? WHERE IS SHE!?"

"Don't get your pants in a knot, she's with me, safe and sound. Unlike you."

They untied his hands, ripped off his blindfold, and then shoved him into the middle of the stage.

Nick scrambled onto his feet and looked at his surroundings. He spotted Ben and April in the window above him. "Let us go! Me and April don't want to be a part of what you're planning!"

"Surely you wouldn't want to miss the greatest show on earth?"

"What the hell are you talking about? What show?"

"Terror is Reality: Rebooted. I'm going to make T.K's show even better than ever."

"Dude, there's an outbreak going on! We don't have time for your stupid show."

But Ben ignored him. "Alright, ladies and gentlemen, our contestant will be going through a series of challenges. The Zombie Genocide Challenge, the Maze of Queens challenge, and much more! Let's all give a big cheer for..." He bent down and closely studied Nick's jacket. "...Nick. Let's all give a big cheer for Nick!"

Small fireworks went off around the stage and a voice clip of people cheering played.

"Bring out the zombies!"

All of a sudden, some cages opened, and zombies of all shapes and sizes came staggering out. Some of them were normal types, but most of them were King Zombies. These King Zombies had a Queen nest amalgamated to their head, and Queens viciously buzzed around their faces.

"Nick here has to kill all of these zombies with only a lead pipe, a plank of wood, and a handbag."

"Are you kidding me!?" He backed away from the zombies.

"Remember Nick, you've got to be willing to risk it all if you're ever gonna WIN BIG!"

The zombies snarled at him as they drew closer.

Nick made a dash for the lead pipe and started chipping down their numbers. But the King Zombies kept knocking him down, and he was outnumbered.

April watched in horror as Nick struggled against the horde. "Ben, he can't kill all of them with just a lead pipe! You've got to give him a Sledgesaw or something!"

"But then it wouldn't be challenging." He replied. "Come on, April. Isn't that what you've always liked about me?" He came closer to her face. "Aren't I just perfect?"

April knew there was no getting through to him. She kicked him in the crotch, and bashed his head against the window three times.

Ben laid on the ground holding his bleeding head.

She quickly sprinted out the door and into the hall.

"Ben let me keep my guns...thank god." She breathed. "I have to get to Nick, before those zombies tear him apart..."

She tried to navigate the hallway as best as she could, all while gathering materials to make a combo weapon for Nick.

Ben soon recovered and grabbed the microphone. "Lyris! Selena!" He called. "April has escaped! Find her, quickly, and don't let her get near the stage, got it?"

The two teens nodding in understanding and rushed off to find the girl.

April frantically kept looking for a sledgehammer. She needed it to make the combo weapon.

"Come on... If I worked at this place, where would I put a sledgehammer?" She searched through the boxes and tools for any sign of one. She suddenly spotted a pitchfork and a shotgun. She smiled. "Bingo."

Lyris and Selena came bursting through the backstage door. Both were holding bats, and one had a desire to snuff out April's light.

"Come out come out wherever you are..." Selena said sweetly.

Lyris only had one arm. The left one had been amputated up to the elbow.

"Why do we have to kill her?" Lyris looked guilty. "I know Goldy hates her and all, but why? She seems pretty nice."

"Because... She's ugly."

"That's a shitty reason to hate her."

"Look, let's just get this over with. Heh, hey, do you think maybe she hangs around Ben because she wants to get, like, laid?"

"...No."

"Think about it! Ben has this, like, huge crush on her. She's probably been planning this from the beginning, cause she's a slut."

"I don't think that's true at all!"

"Oh don't be such a baby! It's not like she's here watching us."

Suddenly, the iron blades of a pitchfork impaled Selena from behind.

Lyris screamed and backed away, as Selena stood there, shocked at the agonising pain.

From behind her, April's head appeared.

"Heard you talking shit about me."

She pulled the trigger on the shotgun that was taped to the pitchfork, and Selena exploded into bloody chunks.

Lyris let out a loud scream as she fell to the floor. She started crying as she stared at April in horror.

April pulled out her guns. "You wanna run that name by me again?"

"No...no...please I beg of you..." She sobbed. "Don't kill me...please..."

April felt a little pity for the girl. "Heh." She put them away. "Whatever. I don't have time for you. Do as you please." She walked off.

Lyris got onto her feet. "Wait!"

April stopped in her tracks.

"I... I can help you... I can help you get to Nick!"

She turned around. "I don't need your help. I can find my way to him on my own."

"You won't be able to without my help. This place is like a maze, you can easily get lost in it." She took a step towards her. "Please, let me help you, even if it's just this once."

Lyris had one of those faces you couldn't say no to. Along with brown eyes, long light brown hair, and olive skin.

April just grunted and beckoned her over. "Fine. You can tag along. Just don't get in my way, alright?"

"Okay." She clutched her bat as she followed her out.

Soon enough they were in the hall yet again.

"So which way from here?" Asked April.

"Follow me." Lyris ran off and April sprinted behind her.

For a second, April thought that Lyris was leading her back to Ben, but after running through endless doors and hallways, she stopped in front of a metal door.

"This is where me and Selena dragged him out." She said.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" April kicked it open and marched in.

It was lucky that she arrived at that moment too. Nick was cornered. Zombies surrounded him left and right, and his lead pipe had broke.

"Nick!" Cried April.

The zombies turned around and started staggering towards her.

But April shot them down before they could get near her and ran up to Nick.

"Nick, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He panted. "Those zombies got me good though." He showed her a wound on his arm.

"Come on, let's get out of here." She took his hand and started running towards the door.

"STOP!"

April and Nick spun round to see Ben descending from the ceiling. Wires lowered him down, and he took them off once he hit the ground.

"You think you can escape me? Ha! The show will go on! No matter what!"

Nick and April exchanged a look.

"You can't create a game show by capturing a bunch of zombies and forcing survivors to fight them in impossible conditions." April said.

"I didn't capture them... Some guys gave them to me..."

Now April was intrigued. "Who gave them to you?"

"I don't know! Some guys came along with some zombies in pens. They said they wanted to help me with my project."

She grabbed him by the shoulders. "Who did they say they were? Ben, you need to tell me!"

"...They said they were from the... The ZDC or something like that..."

Her eyes went wide. "T-The ZDC? You mean THAT ZDC?"

"Why are you so shocked? I don't even know who the ZDC are."

"Why would they give you... Aren't they meant to keep us safe!? I don't understand..."

Nick had a horrified look on his face. "I... I shouldn't have given him Zombrex..." He muttered, thinking back.

Ben gave April a sharp push that nearly knocked her to the floor. "Whatever. If you think I'm going out with you after this, then think again." He stormed off and flipped off Nick before marching out the door.

"...Yeah, fuck you too..." Nick glared.

April sighed. "Why would the ZDC willingly give him zombies? Wouldn't they have to get zombies from Phenotrans anyway?"

"Either way, this is screwed. What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, a zombie grabbed April from behind.

It was just about to bite her neck, when Nick pulled it off her and threw it to the ground.

He stood beside her as they watched the crowd of zombies advance closer and closer towards them. Lyris stood with them too, looking very afraid.

"We don't want to spend too much time fighting them all... There could be more survivors out there..." Nick scratched his tattoo nervously.

"W-What do we do?" Lyris trembled.

April looked behind her and locked her eyes onto the stage. She smiled to herself and climbed onto it.

"Maybe I could stay behind while you and April get out of here. What do you think, April?" He turned around, and was surprised to see her on the stage.

April was holding headphones. She threw them to Lyris and picked up an air guitar.

"You might want to cover your ears, Nick."

"Uhh...okay..."

Once both of them had their ears safely covered, April played a single, loud chord.

"This concert's gonna rock more than BB Love's...headlights."

She started slowly, only jamming out casually, but once she really got into it she strummed more quickly and the sound coming from the guitar was almost deafening.

Nick closed his eyes tightly as the sound battered his covered ears.

The zombies started jerking violently.

April saw this and kept playing, strumming like it was the end of the world. She held the guitar up in the air and even behind her head, fingers still strumming.

Finally, they could take it no more.

As April performed a killer solo, one by one, the zombies' heads exploded. April wasn't even phased by how loud the guitar was, but Nick could feel his head vibrating. She continued for a short while (even after every zombie had died) and finished by playing one last note while sliding towards the front of the stage on her knees.

"Yes! Haha!" She opened her arms. "Thank you everyone! Goodnight!" She fell backwards and laid on the stage with her eyes closed.

When she opened them again, she saw Nick looking down at her with concern.

"You're crazy..." He said as he shook his head.

April took his hand and stood back up. "Good thing I'm not as crazy as those psychopaths though."

Nick's transceiver started ringing.

He looked down at it. "Must be Penelope..." He answered it. "Hello?"

"Nick, April, you okay?"

"Yeah we're just fine, Penelope."

"That's good. Me and Hide have found something...interesting."

"What is it?"

"I think you'd better come and see it yourself."

"Alright, we're on our way." He hung up. "Penelope's found something, says she wants us to see it."

"Okay, let's go."

The three ran off into the outside world together.

 **End of Chapter 7**


	8. Chapter 8: Party Crashers

Time until the military arrives: 96 hours, 56 minutes and 45 seconds.

The trio eventually found their way back to the church, where they saw Hide, Penelope, and many other survivors huddled around a laptop, including Denitra and her husband.

"Hey." Nick waved slightly.

Everyone spun round, weapons drawn.

Nick jumped and backed away. "It's just me and April..."

"Who's the other girl?" Penelope demanded.

April gestured to Lyris. "This is Lyris Stevens. She used to be a cheerleader back at our school."

"Well, at least she's not one of those damn ZDC agents..." Penelope muttered.

April walked over to the laptop. "So what have you found?"

"Take a look." She turned the screen towards her.

On the screen was a webpage advertising a party at the Ashton household.

"Goldy's place..." April scowled. "Why are they throwing a party in the middle of an outbreak?"

"The Ashton household... They aren't exactly...normal. The husband is a greedy millionaire who will do anything for a few dozen bucks, even sell his own son, the wife isn't right in the head and will literally try to kill you if you even DARE tell her that her shoes look wrong, trust me, I learned that the hard way. I don't know about the daughter...I never met her face to face."

"She goes to my school and pretty much picks on me for no reason."

"No reason at all?"

"Maybe she's envious of my smarts or something? I don't know. Whatever it is though, it's enough for her to humiliate me, and sometimes even punch or kick me."

"Yikes. Well, anyway, they've sent an invitation to here, and, strangely, it's addressed to you, April."

"What?"

Penelope produced a slip of golden paper. "It got slipped under the door while you and Nick were away. Me and Hide looked into it, and it seems genuine enough."

April took it off her hands and read it.

"The Ashton Household requests the honour of the presence of

April Freemore.

The guest may bring along another companion as a "partner". Dining and entertainment will follow.

We hope you will attend at 9:30pm on September 22nd.

Yours Faithfully,

Augustus Ashton."

April read it over and over again, but was still dumbfounded by it. "This could be a trap... Goldy might just be trying to embarrass me again..."

"Regardless, you're going have to go to that party. It's tonight at 9:30 right?"

"Yeah." She looked confused. "Why do I have to go? Goldy is obviously going to try and humiliate me in front of everyone."

She beckoned her over to the laptop. "Me and Hide were looking into them and guess what? They've got a map of town hall. All three floors, and details about every room."

"I forgot Goldy's dad was good friends with the mayor... He must have entrusted it to him at the beginning of this outbreak, so that we wouldn't be able to get our hands on it."

"Unlike the documents in town hall, this whole map still has its digital form. But, when Hide hacked into Mr Ashton's email, there was a message from the mayor, telling Mr Ashton to delete the digital copy as soon as possible, and to burn all the documents in town hall."

"This is terrible..." Nick muttered. "Why would they want to cover this whole thing up?"

"So, here's the plan. You and Nick need to go into that party, find Mr Ashton's computer, print off the map, and get back out. You think you can do that?"

Nick and April shared a look.

"...I don't want people to think me and Nick are... You know..."

"Just say that you're family members if it gets awkward. You do kind of look like eachother."

"Me and Nick have brown eyes, but that's about it..."

"Look, you only have to print off a map and then leave. It's not like you two have to dance, or share a kiss."

Both Nick and April cringed at the thought.

"...No Penelope... Just...ew..."

"I like April, but I don't like her THAT much..."

"And Nick's around 23..."

"Alright! Alright! I get it! You two don't want to kiss. I don't know why you would anyway... It's a pretty big age gap. Nick, you're going to need a suit, because I'm going to be honest, you look like you just crawled out of a forest. April, you'll need a dress, preferably an expensive looking one. I'd say put them on once you're outside the house, we don't want you getting blood on them."

"Where can we get changed though?"

"Go do it in a bush? Just find a place on the property, where no one can see you, and put the clothes on. It shouldn't be hard, the Ashtons have a big estate."

"Are you sure this is the only way?"

"Well, unless you want to break in and steal it, which is pure suicide."

April nodded. "Alright, me and Nick will go in there."

"Try to hide your weapons somewhere under your clothes, trust me, you might need them."

"Got it. I guess me and April will see you later."

"We'll instruct you on where to go via transceiver, okay? Be careful."

April and Nick left Lyris with the others and went out of the church.

As they were walking down the hill, April decided to start a conversation.

"So... How do you feel about this?" Asked April.

"I don't really know... How about you?"

"A little excited I guess."

"Excited?"

"Yeah. 'Cause I'm going to a party with you."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not exactly a party person... I mostly hang around the snack table."

"I just don't have anyone to talk to at parties, mainly because I don't know anyone there. But since you're with me, it should be fine." She held Nick's hand as she balanced on some rail. "I'm mostly an outdoors type of person. My dad doesn't like me going to the forest, but I do it anyway."

Nick held her hand tighter as she started losing her balance. "You alright?"

She quickly regained it. "Yeah, yeah."

"I used to do this with Diego when I was younger. Our foster parents got really mad about it, and warned us not to do it. But, being the rebellious boys that we were, we still did."

April fell off.

Nick quickly caught her. "Whoops." He laughed. "Lucky I was here, huh?"

After April gave his shoulder a friendly punch, he put her back on the ground.

They took a break and sat beside a small fountain. The water was still flowing, and gracefully falling into the limestone bowl. A few dimes were already at the bottom.

"...you know, I never asked..."

Nick looked at her expectantly.

"What do you think your real parents looked like?"

Nick frowned at her. "I don't know... I don't like to talk about my real parents, to be honest..."

"Why not?"

"Well... It makes me wonder why they gave me up, you know? Were they forced to? Did my mom die unexpectedly? Did they just hate me?" He stared into the fountain's water. "Either way, I wish I had some support during my childhood. The first two foster homes me and Diego went into were awful, we only lived with people who actually cared when we were 13. And then Diego left to become a solider at 18, and I was all alone with no fucking clue of what I wanted to be."

April put her arm around his shoulder. "I'm sorry Nick, I didn't realise..."

"No, it's okay, really." He replied with a small smile. "It's nice to get it off your chest."

April produced a small coin from her pocket, and flipped it into the fountain.

"What did you wish for?"

"I can't tell you! If I told you, then it won't come true!" She gave him a dime. "Here, how about you wish for something?"

"Uhh, okay." He took it from her. Nick wasn't one who relied solely on luck or fate to get him places, but nevertheless he played along. He focused on the fountain, and flipped the dime into the waters.

"Did you wish for something good?"

"Yeah..." He replied. "We should get going."

April nodded in agreement and they started off again.

It wasn't long until they found a fancy shop with tuxedos and the like. They sealed the zombies outside and took a look around. The whole store was brightly illuminated by several small chandeliers. Smart looking dresses and suits clothed models around the store.

"Wow..." April gazed at it all. "Me and my Dad could never afford these clothes!"

"I don't think me and Annie could either..."

April started running around, looking for dresses.

"No..."revealing" ones, okay? I don't want boys eyeing you up."

"Relax Nick, I won't pick any sexual ones. Besides, I'm sure they won't come close with you around, you're a pretty bulky guy." She picked a dress and dashed into the dressing room to try it on.

Nick sat in a chair and waited for her. He noticed some complimentary snacks beside him, but didn't take any since he wasn't hungry.

"You okay in there?" He called.

"Yeah! Just give me a second... This dress feels a bit tight."

She pulled the curtain back, and came stiffly walking out in a yellow sequinned dress. It was constricting her stomach area, and Nick noticed her face going a little purple.

"Nick..." She gasped. "Nick...I can't breathe..."

He rushed over and freed her from the dress's deathly grip.

She coughed and gasped.

"Are you okay?" He held her.

"Yeah... Yeah... This dress is out of the question though."

"Agreed."

She chose another dress and went back inside. Nick looked over at the snacks again.

"Peanuts?" He muttered. With the sneaky dart of his hand, he quickly took one and stuffed it into his mouth.

April came gliding back out in a crimson red dress. Its skirt was above her knees and her cleavage was very "presented" in it.

Nick stared at it.

"What-"

"No." He quickly said.

"I thought you'd say that. It's a bit..."

"For older girls."

April went back in and changed back into her normal gear. She came out and searched the store. "There's got to be one in here somewhere."

"We could always look in another one, if you can't find a dress here."

She set her eyes on an emerald dress, with a frilled skirt, and Celtic patterns on the short sleeves.

"Oh my god Nick, this one's beautiful!" She ran up to it. "Can I wear it, please?"

"Well, if you really want to..."

"Yay! Thank you, Nick!" She grabbed the dress and ran into the dressing room.

After a while, April came back out in the dress. She walked up to Nick and spun herself round.

"How do I look?"

Nick studied her. "You look great. If I didn't know you, I'd think you were a princess or something."

"A princess?" She looked at the ground. "C-Come on, I can't be that stunning."

"You look pretty to me."

"S-Stop it!" She blushed.

"Haha, wow, I didn't know you got embarrassed so easily."

"I've just... Never worn these types of clothes before, okay? I've never been complimented by anyone other than my family, in fact."

"You're seriously hated that much at your school?"

"Only by some people. I guess the rest just don't want to talk to me."

"I can't see why..."

April twirled herself round, and made the dress flow behind her. "I think this is a pretty good fit. This'll do." She went back into the dressing room and changed into her normal clothes. She carried the dress on her arm as she came out. "Alright Nick, your turn."

Nick quickly picked out a smart tux and went inside the dressing room.

April sat in the chair and immediately spotted the snack bowl beside her. "Ooh! Peanuts!" She took a handful of them and stuffed her face.

Nick came back out, snappily dressed.

He winked and adjusted his bow tie. "Nick Ramos has arrived."

April tried to chew the peanuts as best as she could. "Wow Bick! Ouuu lrook gwreat!"

Nick laughed slightly. "I had a feeling you'd find those peanuts."

"Sorrwy! I-" She finally swallowed them. "...Ahem, sorry about that. You look great. Defiantly ready to crash a party."

"Thanks. It's been a long time since I've worn a tux."

"You look like one of those secret agents."

He slipped on some sunglasses. "The name's Ramos. Nick Ramos."

April was giggling away. "Okay, okay, enough, let's just put these in a bag and head off."

They sealed the clothes inside plastic bags and headed out. As they ran through the town together, killing zombies along the way, both of them tried to have a normal conversation. But it wasn't an everyday thing to be swarmed by undead who hungered for your flesh. Nick had become a little bit braver around them, but the Los Perdidos outbreak had permanently scarred him, even now he sometimes blamed himself for the deaths of some survivors, including Diego. The horrors he encountered would forever appear in his nightmares. Annie would try her best to ease his pain, but he would always remember the many lives lost, the psychopaths he had to face, and how important he was.

Nick opened the church door, and let April go inside first before following her in.

Denitra and Penelope were talking. Denitra was making frantic gestures while speaking, but Penelope was just shrugging and looking confused.

"Hey. We've got the clothes." Nick held them up to her.

"That's great. Uhh..." She looked at them both. "Denitra's trying to tell me something, but I don't know what. She keeps saying "Ashtons" and then a bunch of Spanish lingo."

"Let me try asking her." Nick walked up to Denitra.

"Hola, Nick." She said.

"Hola, Denitra. Mi amigos no pueden entender. ¿Qué estás diciendo?"

"Ah, Ah ya veo. Lo que estoy diciendo es que sé algo sobre los Ashtons."

"She says she knows something about the Ashtons."

"So that's what she was trying to tell me!" Said Penelope. "Ask her what it is, Nick!"

"Alright." He faced her again. "¿Qué saben acerca de los Ashtons?"

"Tienen un sistema secrurity en su estudio, lo cual no es difícil de romper, pero es muy complicado e incluso el más mínimo error podría ponerlo fuera." She answered.

"She said that they have a security system in their study. It's not hard to break, but it's very complex, and even one little mistake could set it off."

"Interesting. Perhaps Hide could shut it down for you two."

Denitra looked at Nick and April's new duds. "Son esos vestidos para la fiesta?"

Nick nodded. "Sí. Yo y Abril plan sobre masquerading como invitados, y furtivamente en el estudio cuando nadie está mirando."

Denitra shook her heavy head. "Vosotros, jóvenes de hoy, juro que la mayoría de ustedes son temerarios adolescentes o adultos jóvenes que harán cualquier cosa para entrar en una fiesta." She went back into the office.

"No todos nosotros..." Said Nick.

"Nick?" April waved a hand in front of his face.

Nick blinked and looked down at her. "¿Qué es?"

"Nick, I don't speak Spanish..."

"...Oh that's right! Gah!" He facepalmed. "Sorry, all this Spanish talking sent me down memory lane. It was like I was back at one of my foster homes again."

"How many foster homes did you and Diego live in?"

"3. 2 in Mexico, and 1 in America. Me and Diego parted ways when we turned 18. Diego started working in the military, and I just bought out an apartment in Los Perdidos."

Before any further conversation could begin, Penelope cut in between the two. "I hate to break up this nice chat, but you two need to get going. The party's going to be starting soon, and we can't have you being late."

Nick looked at Penelope. "Okay." Then he locked his eyes onto April. "I'm sure me and April can get there on time."

"You'd better. And don't linger there for too long. Just get the map and get out."

"Shouldn't be too difficult."

"Be sure to tell us when you're in the study. I'll pass it on to Hide, and he'll take down the security for you."

Hide waved. "Compared to Phenotrans, the Ashton's security is a bit... "Shit"."

"That's a new thing from you, Hide!" April laughed. "I never thought I'd hear you swear."

"Mother used to punch me in the head or hit me with...whatever was near, if I even dared say "crap", "fuck", "shit", or "damn". But since she's not here..."

"My family lets me swear, Dad said it was a good way of channeling anger."

"No time! No time!" Penelope ushered them to the door. "We'll see you both later, as long as you don't screw up or anything."

Nick and April decided it was best to leave, otherwise Penelope would just nag them more.

"So do you know where Goldy lives?" Nick had his weapon at the ready for zombies.

"I know it's an estate, but I don't know exactly where the estate is." She brought out the map and ran her finger across it. She pointed at a coloured block on the edge of a green field. "Around here."

"Man, don't have many neighbours, do they?"

"They're rich. We're peasants to them." She put away the map and sighed.

"Are you sure you'll be okay? Facing up to her, I mean."

"Goldy shouldn't cause us too much trouble, as long as we avoid her. She's pretty brainless, so she can't be hard to deceive."

"She's really that stupid?"

"Let's just say she loses brain cells each time she waves a Pom Pom. I swear, everytime I see her she's more stupid than last time. She once called me a prostitute for hanging out with boys!"

"...But you're only 15..."

"Exactly! She's just so... Ugh, I wish I wasn't in the same school as her."

Nick looked over the horizon. "It's getting dark, the party should be starting soon." He held her hand comfortingly. "If she tries to start something, I'll be right beside you."

"Thanks, Nick." She laughed in a sad tone. "You're my only friend in the whole fucking world, you know that?"

"I'm sure that's not true... You must have at least someone who cares about you."

"My parents. And that's about it. Did I do something wrong to deserve this? If I did, then I'm sorry, I-"

"I care about you." Nick interrupted.

"...Nick, are you just saying that to make me feel better?"

"No, I'm being serious. You're the only one who's not treated me like shit from the get-go. These talks we have really make me feel better, you let me tell you about my problems instead of shooting me down for them, and I appreciate that. After the Los Perdidos outbreak, I became extremely depressed. I even thought about suicide at some points. But Annie kept my spirits up, told me everything was going to be okay, and that this was something every outbreak survivor had to deal with. When that plane landed and I got out of it, I just... Broke down... I couldn't stop crying, no matter what I did..."

"Jesus, Nick..."

"Yeah... I know... Annie says it's common backlash for outbreak survivors. "They always break down at some point" is what she told me. I recovered of course, but... Those events are still fresh in my mind."

"It really scarred you that badly?"

"Yes!"

"...I-Is that going to happen to me...?"

He stared at her for a moment. "...I don't know." He answered. "It's different for each person." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Just remember, I'm here for you, okay?"

"...Yeah." She sniffed. "Yeah I know..."

Nick could see her eyes welling up with tears. "Hey... Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

She quickly wiped them away. "Trust me I'm fine. This is just...getting to me a little bit." She sniffed again. "Can we go? I promise you, I'm fine."

"...Alright, if you say so..."

They continued on to Goldy's house. April tried to steel herself, she knew she couldn't make herself look like a crybaby, especially in front of Nick. In an outbreak, the ones who cried and relied solely on other people, always died first. And April was, in all fairness, not a weak little girl. Slowly, she was getting more and more used to the zombies, and wasn't that scared of them anymore, though the ones at night were a different story. Plus, she had Nick with her. So she wasn't fighting alone, and she could confide her problems with at least someone she trusted.

Time until the military arrives: 94 hours, 53 minutes and 12 seconds.

Night fell. The crescent moon rose above the hills and towered over. Goldy's house wasn't a small pad. It was, in fact, a Mediterranean style villa. It had bright sandstone walls and a brown tiled roof, along with exotic plants and flowers in pots and flower beds. Water was flowing through a blue tiled canal, and the underwater light illuminated every single tile perfectly.

The party was clearly in full swing, as April and Nick could see silhouettes of people in the windows. A woman dressed to the nines was still stationed outside. She hadn't noticed them yet.

They hid behind a few bushes.

"Do you really think they'll mistake us for rich guests? I don't talk poshly, and my hair's not gelled or anything." Said Nick.

"As long as we don't hang around, they'll never guess." April whispered back. "Now come on, let's get these clothes on."

"You won't look, right? I haven't exactly got a six pack..."

"As if I'm interested in your chest!" April scoffed.

They quickly slipped the clothes on. April wandered out of the bush first, in her lovely dress, and Nick came out just after, sporting the tux.

"We do kind of look like a couple..."

"D-Don't say that..." Nick muttered loudly.

They walked up to the woman and stood in front of her. She was checking a list so it took her a while to notice them, when she did she jumped slightly, but replaced her surprised look with a dazzling smile.

"Good evening. Welcome to the Ashton Villa."

"Hey, we were invited to this party." She handed her the invitation.

The lady studied it and then referred to the guest list. "...Ah, yes, April Freemore, yes you're on the list." She looked at Nick. "...Who's your companion?"

Nick panicked a little. "U-Uhh..."

"He's my brother." April quickly said. "He gets worried about me sometimes, which is why I brought him along."

"Aww! That's so cute! What's his name?"

April tried to think. "...Nicholas."

"Nicholas Freemore..." She wrote it down. "Well, you two can go straight in, there's a dance later on tonight."

"Thanks." She walked straight in, dragging Nick behind her.

Once they were in the entrance hall (which was pretty empty) they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nicholas?" Nick cocked an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just say my real name?"

"These are rich families. I don't think any of them would have names like Nick." She opened a crack in the door and peered through. "There's tons of people in there... Looks like there's some ZDC Agents too."

"ZDC? Why the hell would they be at a party?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're protecting the study, or trying to weed out unexpected guests and infected." She came away from the door. "Are you ready to go in?"

"I'm not sure. They might recognise me..."

"You had a run-in with the ZDC?"

"Well, I survived the Los Perdidos outbreak, what do you think?"

"Fair point. Just try not to look at them. And remember, be calm. They'll start to get suspicious if you're looking all nervous and sweaty."

"Should I hide my number?"

"...Probably best, if that's the main characteristic they've been given about you."

Nick found some tissue and tucked it into his collar to hide the number.

"...That'll do...I guess..."

"It's the best I can do."

She held his hand tightly. "Remember, stay calm."

He gave her a small nod and they headed in together.

The warm ambiance of the ball room was only amplified by the bright chandeliers above, and the claustrophobic amount of people. There were two tables decorated with white cloth opposite eachother, one with drinks and many wines, and the other with small food pieces. The oddest thing was how similar everyone looked. Nick was the only Hispanic person there, everyone else was Caucasian, with fair hair and eyes.

"I must stick out like a sore thumb..." Nick whispered.

"Don't worry. They think we're family, so I'll just say that my mom had black hair or something."

"Another one of things the ZDC was told about me was that I'm Hispanic. They'll find me eventually if we stay here too long."

"They haven't seen us yet..." She looked over to a door, heavily guarded by two agents. "Hey... Do you think that's where the study is?"

"Why else would they be guarding it like that?"

She fearlessly walked up to the door.

The agent stopped her. "Where do you think you're going?" He gently pushed her away, if she was older he would have used more force. "Only Mr Ashton is allowed in here."

"Is this his study then?"

"Yes. Now buzz off, we've got a job to do here."

She jogged back over to Nick, and waited until they weren't looking at her anymore. "It's the study. Now, how to get inside..."

"We've got to distract them somehow."

"Wait, we don't even know if the door's locked. If they hear us trying to open it, they'll open fire on us for sure."

"If the door is locked, wouldn't one of them have the key?"

"Or maybe Mr Ashton himself has the key." She scanned the place. "I can't see him anywhere right now."

"He's probably lingering with the rest of the guests somewhere." Nick noticed some of the party guests staring at him, and quickly averted his eyes. "I-I think I'll just go over to the wine table. I need a drink."

"Alright, I'll go around and ask about Mr Ashton. Stay at that table. I'll meet you there in a couple of minutes."

"Yeah... Yeah, okay. Try and be quick. I think they're catching onto me..."

"You're probably just being paranoid."

"I hope so..."

April wandered into the crowd and started talking with the older guests.

Nick hung around the drinks table, and nervously waited for April to come back. He was slightly sweating in his tuxedo, as more and more guests gathered round to pour Punch into their glasses. He remembered that he promised Annie not to drink, no matter what form of alcohol it was.

A blonde girl came up to the table, and poured some vodka in her glass. Because of her height, he thought it was April at first.

"H-Hey what are you doing?"

She looked at him with her grey eyes. "Getting a drink." She replied.

"...O-Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else." He looked away from her to cover up the embarrassment.

The girl came closer to him. "I haven't seen you around these parts before. You new?"

"Yeah. Pretty new I guess."

"What do they call you?"

"...Nicholas. Nick for short."

"Well, Nick, what are you doing in a town like this?"

"U-Uhh... No reason... Just work, I guess."

"An outsider huh? No wonder you're nervous."

"I'm not nervous..."

"You are." She grinned at him. "I can see it in your face. It's because of these agents isn't it?" She looked at him with suspicion.

Now Nick was getting scared. His heart rate slowly climbed as his breathing changed. "U-Uhh... Oh shit..." He whispered.

"...They really shouldn't have hired such high authority."

So this young girl hadn't caught onto him yet. For this, he was relieved.

"Y-Yeah." He replied. "I-I mean what are they expecting to happen? A huge break in?"

"Hehe, yeah, crazy isn't it?" She rubbed the rim of her glass. "You're real funny, you know that?"

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Dad warned me to stay away from outsiders, but you seem alright." The girl gave him a cheeky wink.

"Thanks... I guess."

She looked up the stairs, where a rather chubby man was beckoning her. "...Oh by the way, the name's Goldy. Goldy Ashton."

"Goldy..." His eyes widened when he realised. "Wait, you-"

"I'll see you round." She blew him a kiss.

"Wait a second! I already-" But she turned her back on him and left before he could say anymore. "...So that's Goldy..." He followed her up the stairs with his eyes. The large man, whom Nick presumed was her father, seemed to be scolding her harshly. Clenched tightly in his left hand, Nick could see a small key. "That might be the key to the study! But how the hell can we..."

"Nick!"

He spun round to see April dashing towards him.

"April, Mr Ashton's got the key, right there, look." He pointed.

"I had a feeling he'd be keeping it with him. Goldy's Dad was always paranoid over his possessions being stolen."

"Speaking of Goldy..."

"Hm?"

"She... She came up and talked to me."

April blinked. "...Seriously? Right now?"

"Just a moment ago, yeah."

"What did she say to you?"

"She asked me what I was doing here, and such. And then she started flirting with me."

"...Gets dumber and dumber each time... Couldn't she see that you're in your 20s?"

"I swear, I should wear a ring or something saying that I'm taken."

Goldy's father took his place at the top of the stairs, and tapped his glass with a spoon. The party goers fell silent, and watched him.

"Welcome, friends and family." He announced in a regal tone. "Me and Lavina are content with ourselves to have you all here tonight. Despite all the rumours of an... "Outbreak" going on, you have all arrived unharmed."

"What the fuck does he mean "a rumour"? There's one happening right now!" Nick whispered to April.

"I can assure you, the government has told me that they have everything under control. Starting from tomorrow, they will bring in some "special units" to clear up this mess, and to weed out any illegals hiding in our fair city."

Nick and April looked at eachother.

"Special units? Does he mean Spec Ops?"

"I don't know..." Nick folded his arms. "But I don't like the sound of it."

"With all the documents burned, and 12 recovered, Lydonhole will simply be a small accident. Just a little screw up. But it will lead to a better America. An America free of those disgusting infected illegals and zombies. Lydonhole was a heavy price to pay, but a necessary price to progress!"

Everyone except Nick and April raised their glasses and cheered. "Here's to Augustus! The Paver of a Bright Future!" Is what echoed through the hall.

Augustus was taking it all in. Pridefully raising his arms and absorbing the praises.

April and Nick glared at him in disgust.

"...That fat bastard won't get away with this..." April clenched her fists.

"...Paver of a Bright Future my ass. The only path he's making is to his own grave."

When the applause and cheering finally died down, the little stubby man clapped his hands together. "Now that I have spoken, it is time for you to enjoy yourselves. Music!"

An orchestra started playing waltz music, as everyone got into their positions. Nick and April were frantically looking around.

"O-Oh shit... Uhhh..." Nick was visibly cringing. "We have to dance don't we?"

"Relax, it's just the waltz."

"But I don't know how to waltz!"

She sighed, but smiled. "Here, let me show you." She took both his hands. "Alright, put your hand here." She placed it on her waist, and held his other hand. "And I'll put my hand there." She put her hand on his shoulder.

"This feels really weird..."

"I know. But remember, you can do this with Annie when you see her." She winked. "Okay, when the actual dance starts, you've got to keep up with the others. Remember, 1, 2, 3, 4, spin."

"1, 2, 3, 4, spin..."

"Do it in rhythm with the song. So, 1 2 3 4..." She spun around with him. "Like that."

The music started up, and everyone glided around the ballroom.

"1 2 3 4... 1 2 3 4..." He muttered this to himself as he continued to dance with her. He accidentally stepped on her toes. "Ah! Sorry!"

She winced in pain slightly. "I-It's fine. Normal mistake for an amateur. Try and watch where your feet are going."

He kept looking down at his feet as they danced. Over time, he actually started to have fun. The only time he'd ever danced in his life was back at Wrench O' Rama. It was freestyle, and Rhonda caught him doing it, making him too mortified to dance again.

"Hey Nick, you're doing real good!"

"This isn't actually half bad." He spun her around.

While the dance carried on, Augustus dismissed his agents from the door, and unlocked it.

April noticed this. "Hey, Nick, look!"

He went straight inside without closing it. Their ticket to the study was right there.

"Should we just... Dance straight in there?"

"...Sure, why not?"

They managed to get through the crowd, although Nick bumped into a few people, and swung into a dark hallway. The duo quickly closed the doors. They could hear muffled applause from the other side as the music stopped.

"Oh my god, man..." Nick huffed. "I thought those agents would spot us."

"Just be glad they didn't question the tissue covering your number." April got out her transceiver. "Penelope?"

Some crackling came from the device. "...April? Are you in?"

"Yeah. Me and Nick just got into the study. We're in a dark hallway right now."

"Alright. According to Hide, you're in the hunting gallery. You need to take a left at the end of the hall."

When April noticed the petrified animals put up on display, she felt her stomach turn. She wasn't a fan of game hunting, in fact she was completely against it, she hated seeing animals die with fear and agony in their eyes. She walked as fast as she could down the hall.

Nick walked alongside her. "Did you remember your guns?"

She quickly produced them from her pocket to show him.

"I'm just thinking, if there were ZDC agents in the ballroom, there could be agents in here."

"Sorry, could we go a little faster? All these stuffed animals are making me feel sick..." She jerked her head away from a stuffed fox, also in a petrified and painful state like the others.

Nick did his best to shield the animals from her view. He put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "At least they're out of their suffering. It would be worse if they were still alive, and being tortured."

"It still baffles me how people can just kill animals and stuff them like that..."

"The world is all sorts of fucked up."

When they finally got to the end of the hall, Nick took April's transceiver (April couldn't talk to Penelope since she was choking back vomit).

"Alright, we're near the end of the hall. April's... Not doing too good, so make it quick."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She looks like she's about to throw up. Probably from that partially stuffed bird we saw."

"Partially stuffed? You mean one part of its body was limp and flat?"

"Yeah... Around the neck part, so it looked like it's neck had-"

"Okay, you're going to make me puke if you say anymore. Just take a left and go through the door straight ahead."

Nick took April's hand. "It's alright, we won't see anymore dead animals after this."

"I know, I know. Heh, I really am a coward huh?"

"That's bullshit, and you know it." He said bluntly. "April, you are anything but a coward. You've gone through zombies without so much as batting an eye, you've taken down psychopaths and a government agent, and you've really helped me, a lot more than you know."

"How the hell have I helped you? Don't I annoy you by crying all the time?"

"April, you've only cried three times. Maybe a forth time back outside the church, but that's about it. You really need to stop putting yourself down like that, you're not as annoying as you think you are."

As they reached the door, April looked at Nick with uncertainty.

"I haven't seen any shotguns in the hunting gallery... What if they're in the study with him? He could easily grab one and shoot us both."

"...We'll just have to hope that they're decoration." He grabbed the door handle. "April, listen to me, if he comes at us with a shotgun, I want you to run, okay?"

"But what about you?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Her grip on his hand tightened. "No Nick, I'm staying with you. I'm not going to sit back and let you have all the fun."

Nick stared at her for a moment. Then he laughed slightly and smiled at her. "You're a funny little thing, aren't you?"

"Hey, someone's gotta kick that tub of lard where the sun don't shine."

"Alright, alright, but if things start to get dangerous, I want you to get out of there as fast as you can."

With a small nod from April, Nick turned the door knob and creaked it open.

The warm crackling of a fire was the first thing they heard. A green seat was illuminated by the fireplace in front of it. This created a rather welcoming atmosphere. But Nick knew better than to let his guard down.

He crept inside, still holding April's hand, and carefully looked around.

Mahogany bookcases with many volumes were situated against the walls, the books themselves looked ancient, with leather covers and shining gold letters on the spines. Straight ahead, there was a desk with a computer, which Augustus Ashton himself was sitting at.

"Get down!" Nick hissed.

They quickly crouched, and scuttled along to the sofa. Nick and April peered at him for a moment before lying flat on the couch.

"Now what do we do?"

"I don't know..." Whispered Nick. "If we stay here, he'll spot us."

Augustus yawned before continuing to read his emails.

"We need to get him away from there. He could delete that map at any moment." April moved her eyes around for anything to use. They landed on a open door, leading to a dark room, and then on the fireplace. Suddenly, she got a sneaky idea.

She crawled towards the fireplace. Quietly, she grabbed a small metal shovel and scooped up some of the fiery cinders.

"What are you doing?"

She climbed back onto the sofa. "Just cross your fingers." She bit her lip as she took careful aim. Then, she flicked the small crackles of fire towards Augustus.

As they went flying towards him, Nick grabbed April. "Are you crazy!? If they hit the monitor, we'll never get the map!"

But, luckily, only a few cinders flew over the monitor, the rest of the more hotter ones hit Augustus' suit. The fabric immediately caught fire, and started burning up his arm.

The little man almost screamed when he noticed. He thrashed about, hitting his suit and rolling on the floor. He bolted out of the room and through the door.

"Come on! Now's our chance!" April rushed towards the computer with Nick following behind.

On the screen was an email from the mayor of Lydonhole.

"So the mayor's still alive somewhere..." She read the email, and was filled with rage. "How fucking disgusting."

"What does it say?"

She read it again, this time out loud. "To my dearest friend, Augustus. I hope you are well. The zombies that you gave to me have all been killed via an accident, someone got a little too careless with a gun. I will need another batch soon, Phenotrans have offered a large amount of money for the zombies we collect. By the way, I heard about John Hemlock's unfortunate death. Send my condolences to his friends and family. Regards, Eric Samson."

Nick glared. "Should've known Phenotrans would have something to do with this."

"Do you think they supplied the ZDC with zombies?"

"Yeah. Probably paid them too."

April brought up the files, and started searching for anything that could be the map.

"Tell me if you hear him coming back."

"Alright." Nick hovered beside her while peeking round, checking for Augustus.

She typed in "map" and was overwhelmed by a whole page of documents and files labelled "map".

"Ah shit. Which one would it be?" She scrolled through. Each of them had names like "map 1", "map 2", "map 3", and so on. She continued to scroll through, but to no avail. "Nick, can you pass me my transceiver?"

"Is everything okay?" He gave it to her.

"Yeah. I'm just having some trouble finding it." She pressed something on the small machine. "Penelope."

"What's up?"

"We've gotten to the computer, but I can't find the map we're looking for. He's got over 100 files named "map"."

"Crap, I had an inkling he would hide it. Looks like we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way..." April heard some hushed whispers on the other end of the line. "..I've explained everything to Hide. He's just hacking into Mr Ashton's network right now. I'll pass you over to him."

There was a small pause before Hide's voice came crackling through. "Hello April?"

"Hey, Hide."

"I'm just hacking into his files right now. I'll be using an old trick to determine which file is the right one." Some quick typing was heard. "Alright... Yikes, he's got a lot of documents here. They're most likely decoys." He said. "Just give me a minute."

As Hide worked away, Nick looked up at the far left corner of the room, and noticed a flashing red dot.

"Hey... Wait a minute..."

"I've got it!" Hide announced. "Okay, the document you're looking for is "map 46"."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

April typed in the file name, and clicked on it. The map of city hall popped straight up, along with written details of each room and where to go.

"Finally!" She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Hide."

"I'll make some tea for when you get back. Good luck, you two." He cut off.

"Can you see a printer around?" She darted around the study.

"April, we need to get out of here."

"We will, when we get that map."

"No, April, you don't understand, we need to-"

But she had already found the printer. She dashed back to the computer and started printing it off.

"Just give me a sec."

Nick came up to her. "April, listen to me, we need to go."

"Why are you so insistent on leaving? We'll do it in a minute!"

"We can't. We have to go NOW."

"Later! Can't you see we're so close? Once this is printed off we-"

"APRIL, THERE'S A CAMERA WATCHING OUR EVERY MOVE."

After he had said this, April looked up to see the shining red dot flashing and moving.

"...Oh fuck..."

The printer came to life, and a piercing sound rang in their ears, almost like an alarm of some sorts. The whole room was soaked in dangerous red, and the computer's screen had a "WARNING: INTRUDER DETECTED" sign on it.

April and Nick covered their ears and bent over.

April's face screwed up at the amount of noise. She tried to shout at Nick over it. "NICK! NICK, GRAB THE MAP!"

"WHAT?"

"GRAB THE MAP! IT'S PRINTED, LOOK!"

Nick turned to the printer, and quickly swiped the piece of paper from it. "APRIL, IT'S PRINTED THE MAP!"

"THAT'S WHAT I JUST SAID!"

"WHAT?"

"THAT'S WHAT I- OH NEVERMIND, LET'S JUST GET OUT OF HERE!"

They ran from the noise as fast as they could, and shut the door.

Red lights blinked in the hunting gallery, and the droning sound of the alarm was still going off.

"Shit..." Nick searched around for any sign of Augustus. "We need to get out of here."

"We can't go back out into the ballroom, those agents might've heard the alarm, and could be coming right now."

"What do we do?"

April noticed a corridor leading west. "There must be another way out of here." She dashed down it.

Nick folded up the map and slipped it into his pocket as he ran.

Windows showing the night sky were the only light in the corridor. The moon shone through and painted the walls with its ominous light.

April saw a small oak door up ahead. "That must lead to the garden."

She was racing up to it, until something tripped her up.

She got back onto her feet as Nick ran over to check if she was okay.

"Why do you have to ruin everything?"

Nick and April looked in the darkness, and saw a shadow step into the moonlight.

"Goldy..." April clenched her teeth. "Why are you here?"

"Uh, I kind of live here."

"You know what I mean."

"Well, you guys totally wrecked my Dad's party, and he's, like, freaking out right now. Were you the ones who burned him?"

"Yeah."

"Hehe, nice one. He had it coming."

They stood there in silence, staring at eachother.

"...I didn't know that handsome hunk was with you."

April looked over at Nick for a moment. "Yeah, he's a friend of mine."

"Really? Because the girl at the door told me that he was your brother."

"Well, look, me and April don't have time for this." Nick pushed her out the way. "We'll be going now."

"You're going already? But you haven't even asked for my number." She said sarcastically.

"Like we would want your number." April replied.

Goldy looked shocked. She suddenly screwed up her face and turned away.

"...Goldy?"

She didn't answer.

"Goldy? I'm sorry-"

"Just go." Said Goldy

"Goldy, I'm sorry if I-"

"Didn't you hear me the first time?" She roughly pushed her away. Luckily Nick caught her. "Get out of here, you slut!" She yelled.

Footsteps were coming down the corridor. "Keep moving! Keep moving! 12 and the girl are down here somewhere!"

They knew there was no time to waste. Nick grabbed April's hand and rushed towards the door. He kicked it open and they ran out into the garden.

Gunshots were already going off, the ZDC didn't mess around. April and Nick were being hunted like dogs. They ran to the other side of the building, while frightened guests watched them in horror. Someone in the open windows above even threw something at Nick. He couldn't see what it was, but it hit his head hard enough to nearly knock him to the ground. April held him and guided him towards the gate. The second they were out, she pulled him behind the walled fence and sat him down.

She knelt beside him as the soldiers shouted orders and tried to chase them down.

"Sir, I think they got away."

"You're supposed to be my best unit! What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry sir."

"They already know too much. If they expose us, we're finished, you understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Just get back inside. You can have the boy, but that girl is mine."

The voices faded away as the units retreated into the house. Only the sound of zombies remained.

Whatever Nick got hit by, it was sharp. Blood was trickling down his head and dripping onto his tux.

"Oh my god!" She held his face with two hands and stared in shock at the blood. "Nick you're bleeding! What the hell did they hit you with?"

"I don't know..." He panted. "It looked like... Like a grandfather clock... Or something..."

"We need to get you back to Penelope." She helped him up, and hung him over her shoulder.

The red eyed zombies were groggily staggering towards them, snarling and moaning.

"D-Damn it..." She gulped. But she quickly shook it off. She had to be brave, for Nick's sake. "Hold onto me, Nick." She dragged him back to the church.

Time until the military arrives: 92 hours, 47 minutes and 13 seconds.

A few of the undead demons managed to scratch him, and tear his tux even more, but April kept the rest of them away from him.

When they got to the green hill, she noticed Nick looking very pale, as more blood poured from the open wound on his head. His black jacket and white shirt may as well not be there, the zombies had nearly torn the whole thing apart, exposing his skin. His back was almost completely exposed, and some scratches had already been placed on his back and arms.

Nick started to wobble unsteadily. If April wasn't there, he surely would have fainted. "Just hang on Nick. We're almost there."

After trekking up the hill once again, April kicked the door open and rushed into the church with Nick.

"Penelope! Hide!" She ran up to the altar, past the survivors who gasped the moment they saw poor Nick.

"What's happened to him?" Penelope asked calmly.

"Blow to the head, and some zombies got him on the way here."

Penelope made him sit down on the altar step. "He'll die if we don't do something. Hide, go get a bandage for me, the biggest you can find."

Eventually they managed to stop the bleeding, and Penelope bandaged his head. Luckily, Nick didn't pass out during this, and kept consciousness. Penelope then took off his ruined jacket and shirt, and started tending to the wounds on his back. April sat beside him on the steps of the altar as Penelope nursed his wounds with a soaked sponge.

She shot a melancholy look at him. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah..." He replied with a smile. "It's just a few-" He winced as a small stinging sensation went through his body. "..Just a few scratches. Nothing severe."

"Why did those agents refer to you as 12 instead of your real name?"

The look Nick had on his face was strange, to say the least. He looked as if he was searching for the right words, but at the same time, he had a somewhat guilty expression, like he was hiding something that he felt he shouldn't be.

"...T-They know about Santa Cabeza. I was known as 12 back then. And they also know about my immunity, which is why they're hunting me down."

April stroked the scars on his arm. "They got you really bad..."

"I've had worse, trust me."

Penelope dunked the sponge into the bucket. "We're almost done. Hide's just washing your overalls right now. You'll soon be able to put them back on, if you feel awkward being shirtless."

"I'm okay with it. It's just when women start gawking over my bare chest..."

"I know the feeling. Some boys at school stared at me from a distance."

"So, did you get it?" Penelope asked eagerly.

"Yeah. It's right here." Nick took it out of his pocket and gave it to her. "We read some of his emails too. Phenotrans is involved in this."

She sighed deeply. "Why am I not surprised? They're probably in it for money, as usual."

"The mayor and Mr Ashton were collecting zombies for them. Apparently Phenotrans offered them a lot of cash."

"...Why?" Penelope looked puzzled. "Don't they have Zombrex chips? And they don't do shots anymore."

"Maybe it's something to do with Los Perdidos?" Nick suggested. "Mallon and Hemlock disabled the chips to cause the outbreak."

"They did?"

"Yeah. I heard Mallon say so herself. They turned off the chips and then killed President Paddock by zombifying her."

"...Nick." Said Penelope. "You're starting sound paranoid, like one of those people who believes all those conspiracy theories about Hemlock being involved in the Los Perdidos outbreak, and-"

"What did it look like?" April asked. "The zombification, I mean."

"It... Wasn't pleasant to say the least. I didn't throw up, but I felt I was going to." With April's eagerness, Nick continued. "They took out a black and white worm from a box. Then they forced it down her throat, and then..."

Penelope gagged. "OKAY, we DON'T need to hear anymore. That's gross."

"...I'll tell you the rest when we get back to Sains Co." Nick whispered to April.

After Penelope healed Nick's back and arms, she dried her hands and then started studying the map.

Meanwhile, Hide came in, with a tray of tea on one hand, and Nick's overalls tucked under his arm.

"You need a little help there?" Nick asked, preparing to stand up.

"No, I'm fine." He set the tray down at their feet and handed Nick his clothes. "There's a bathroom through the door over there, where you can get changed."

"Alright, thanks." Nick left the two on the altar steps.

Hide poured the tea into the two cups, he gave one of them to April and sat next to her.

She took a sip and smiled warmly. "Thank you, Hide. I was parched."

"Your welcome."

They looked at eachother for some time. Hide and April were, to say the least, not the best social butterflies. April quickly ran out of topics to talk about, and Hide just wasn't a conversational person, he preferred to get things done rather than have a chat with someone he didn't particularly like. April was an exception to him, however.

"So..." April began, but didn't quite know how to finish it. "Do... Do you like video games?"

"I guess." He shrugged.

"Me too! I like playing the beat 'em up ones. How about you?"

"I like puzzle games. The ones that make you think, instead of the violent ones."

"Well, I guess everyone has their own preference."

Another awkward silence spread across them.

"U-Umm..."

"...I heard your Dad taught you how to fight." Hide said.

"Y-Yeah!" Answered April, relieved that the conversation was starting again. "He taught me some moves they use in the military."

"Did he teach you any karate?"

"Some. Why?"

"It was just that I knew some, and I thought maybe I could teach you it."

"You would do that?"

"Yes. You seem like a nice girl, so why not? Just promise that you won't use it for corrupt reasons."

"Of course not!"

"I'm relieved you're not one of those people."

Lyris came and sat down next to April. "Can I help too?"

"Well... That depends. What can you do?" April replied.

"I can make explosives."

April and Hide's faces dropped.

"...WHAT?" They both echoed.

"I-I can make explosives." She repeated.

Their expressions didn't change.

"HOW?"

"M-My Dad taught me."

"WHY?"

"I don't know..." She shrugged. "Why are you two so shocked? You're a lot better than me."

Nick came running back from the bathroom, wearing his normal clothes.

"Hey Nick." Lyris waved.

"Hey." He noticed Hide and April. "...What's up with them?"

"Oh I just told them I could make explosives."

Nick's mouth dropped open. "...WHAT?"

"W-What's the big deal? It's not much compared to Hide and April's skills."

"It's still pretty incredible though." Nick said. "So, can you make grenades and the like?"

"Yeah. And flaming explosives too."

"Do you think you could make some for me and April to use?"

"Maybe. It would take some time though."

Penelope came marching back, as Nick took his cup from the tray. "Alright. I've plotted out a route for you and April." She showed them the marker trail. "Me and Hide will tell you where to go through your transceivers. Make sure to be outside the town hall at 8:30 tomorrow, at that point Hide should have the cameras down."

"What if there's ZDC agents inside?"

"What do you think, Nick? What would a big strong man like you do if there were agents inside?" She replied sarcastically. "Besides, there can't be many, Mr Ashton likes to keep most of them beside him at all times." She said. "Zoey also told me that there's some stuff worth checking out in there, something that might be crucial."

"Does she mean the documents?"

"No. It's something on an admin computer in the mayor's office. Files, naturally, but she says it has something that may be considered a little bit disturbing."

"How does she know all this?" Nick asked. "Is she in there herself or something?"

"She won't say. But I'm going to go on a limb and say yes."

"Something doesn't feel right..." He said ominously. "How did she get into contact with us, and how does she know April?"

Just as he had spoken, words appeared on Penelope's laptop.

Zoey: All will be explained when you come to Town Hall. Nice overalls by the way, Nick.

They stared in silence at the screen. Nick was especially spooked. He started looking around frantically for any cameras or anyone who could be the mysterious Zoey.

"Okay, this is getting freaky." Penelope looked scared for her life. "How the hell does she know what you're wearing? My laptop doesn't have a webcam or anything."

Zoey: It's an old model, of course it wouldn't.

Penelope felt a chill down her spine. "Oh my god..." She too was now looking around. "How the hell..."

"Okay! Listen, we all just need to calm down." They looked at April. "I don't know how Zoey can see us, but we need to stay focused. Me and Nick will be outside the town hall tomorrow, then we can get these documents and hopefully find out who this Zoey girl is."

"Maybe it's..." Nick started, but shook his head. "No, it couldn't be."

"What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"Alright. You two watch yourselves." Penelope warned. "If she turns out to be a government snitch, I want you to be prepared."

With that warning, Nick and April left.

"...Nick."

He turned to her.

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

"...No." He replied hesitantly.

"Look, Nick, we've been through a lot, and the last thing I want is you lying to my fucking face. Tell me the truth, are you hiding something from me?"

Nick couldn't hide his nervousness, no matter how hard he tried. He forced a straight face. "I'm not hiding anything from you." He said flatly. "I wouldn't...dream of it."

Nick wasn't a good liar, it was clear on his face. April would have tried to beat (not literally) the answer out of him, if he was someone else. But, sadly, it was Nick. And knowing Nick, he would either become scared or angry under further interrogation. So April decided to let it go for now, but she promised to herself that she would get to the bottom of it.

"Alright fine..." She sighed. "If you don't want to tell me anything I guess we'll just head back."

"I promise I'll explain. Just... Not right now... Maybe later, or tomorrow?"

"Yeah, okay, whatever." She started walking off, obviously peeved with Nick.

"April, come on!" He ran until he was at her side. "I WILL explain to you! I promise! It's just a lot to take in."

"Is it something to do with those experiments in Santa Cabeza?"

"Yes. April, I'm not one of the bad guys, I've helped you through this." He pleaded. "I need you to trust me. Please..."

Nick was quite a big man. But when he was begging for forgiveness, he seemed to shrink back a little, and he flashed puppy dog eyes that you really had a difficult time saying no to. Even though Nick was a bulky mechanic, his kind nature was what brought him down. He trusted people too easily, and he didn't favour fighting unless there was no choice in the matter.

April just stared at him in silence.

"Look, I know I've been an asshole by not telling you everything. I'm just scared..."

"Scared of what?"

"That someone's watching us..." He looked around cautiously.

"You mean Zoey? I doubt there's any cameras in the grass, Nick."

"She could still be watching us though."

Wanting to relieve him of his paranoia, April soften a little. "Don't worry about it. If she wanted to harm us, she would've have done it already."

"You're right. But I can't shake this feeling that she's not on our side. Like she's just using us or something."

"Well, hey, if she is, I'll cap her in the head."

"Haha, yeah I would too."

"Hey! Maybe, if she does turn out to be the bad guy, when she's about to die, I could give you one of my guns and we could point them at her, all badass."

"Hell yeah! I'd be down, man! And we could also say something badass like..."

".."Jackpot"? No no, that's been used already. Uhh..."

"Maybe we'll have one when the time comes."

"Yeah we will!"

They gave eachother a small fist bump.

"We should get back, maybe we can talk about it more on the way."

"Yeah, alright."

As they walked back, Axel emerged from the shadows. He watched them go, and then turned his attention to the church.

"So that's where she's hiding them." He uttered a dark chuckle. "Well, it looks like I'm going to have to crash the party." He strode inside the doors without a second glance.

 **End of Chapter 8**


	9. Chapter 9: The Argument

Time until the military arrives: 92 hours, 33 minutes and 56 seconds.

Nick thought April had already crashed out. The moment they got in, she flopped herself onto the makeshift bed, pulled the covers over and then didn't make a sound. He couldn't blame her for being tired, today was another busy day. When he came back to her, however, she was gone. He was starting to panic until he found her on the couch, watching some headlines on the news. It was like she was hypnotised. Even when Nick was near her, she seemed completely unaware of his presence.

Nick sat next to her. "You alright?"

"Yeah." She continued to stare at the screen.

"...Anything you wanna talk about?"

"Maybe."

"April, you can share anything you want with me, I won't judge you."

It was at this point that she looked at him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Okay..." She took a deep breath. "I think I may have killed someone."

"We all do that in a zombie outbreak-"

"No, not in the outbreak, when I was really young."

"What happened?"

"I think I was 3 at the time. I remember visiting this person, my memory fogs up when I try and remember who it was. I found this small box, full of little sticks with red on the ends of them, I didn't know what they were at the time so I started playing with them. And, by sheer chance, one of them caught fire. I stared at that glowing small stick in amazement, thinking I was a witch or something. Then, the person who owned the house came in, and saw me with them. "Put them down." He said firmly. But I didn't want to. It looked so pretty. Then he started yelling "Put them down!" In fright, I accidentally dropped it onto the carpet, and it caught fire. The rest is a blur, but the fire must've spread to the rest of the house. I remember running down a hall covered wall to wall in flames, trying to escape with the man shouting after me and with the fire licking my skin. I was frightened I was going to die in there, because everywhere I went was just... fire. My Dad smashed through a window and saved me before I was burnt alive. I think the other man died in that fire. It was eventually put out, but I still remember that tragedy. It was my fault that it happened, and I can't forgive myself for doing that..."

Nick put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "You can't blame yourself entirely, you were only a small child."

"I still wish I didn't kill him. If I just hadn't touched those matches, he would still be alive today."

"You can't change the past, none of us can, blaming yourself more is just going to make you depressed. I've had to kill people I didn't want to in Los Perdidos. I'm a little better with it now, but I always try to find another way. Some people call me a coward for that... But I just don't want to become some heartless monster, who murders people without batting an eye."

"You wouldn't be able to, Nick." She ruffled his black hair and laughed. "You're way too friendly to become a psychopath."

Nick couldn't help but smile at her. "Yeah, I know." He gave her hair a friendly ruffle. "You and Annie are the only reason I'm still sane."

The words "NEWSFLASH" dominated the screen, and a sharp looking woman appeared.

"We have received news that the tank en route to Lydonhole has now been fixed."

Now their attention was fully towards the television.

"General Vandon once again stresses the importance of chipping. He states that new chips from Phenotrans will house a more advanced Zombrex formula. He laments on the sadness of General John Hemlock's death-"

"Oh shut the fuck up." Nick turned it off. "Hemlock deserved what he got."

"No one actually knows how Hemlock died. Some say he got zombified, others say looters got him-"

"I kicked him into a giant fan."

"..W-What?"

"I kicked him into an airplane fan."

"...Oh my god, seriously?"

"Yep." Nick was surprisingly deadpan. "He killed a lot of people, he deserved to be kicked into a fan by me."

"Y-You... Nick, do you realise what this means?"

"What?"

"Kilduff could have your head for that!"

"Who?"

"John Kilduff. He's the new head of security. He took over after you kicked Hemlock into a fucking fan." She said. "My Dad and him are acquaintances, but Kilduff doesn't like me apparently, so my Dad stays away from him."

"Well, I can't imagine a guy called Kilduff being good with kids."

"I need to go out. The closer they get, the less time we'll have." She stood up and started walking to the door.

But Nick grabbed her by the arm, making her stop and turn around.

"Nick, I'll be fine-"

"Give me the keys to the surveillance room."

She shot a surprised look at him. "What?"

"I know I can't stop you from going out there and risking your life. So at least let me keep an eye on you and help you find survivors. If you're attacked, I'll see it and come running."

With no hesitation, she pressed the keys into his hand and threw her arms around him. "Thank you Nick. I promise I'll be back."

"I know you will." He said, hugging her back tightly.

She separated from him and ran out the door.

Nick stared at the shiny keys in his hand. "Alright, where the hell is that room?" He went out the door and closed it behind him.

April had only just got outside when her transceiver started ringing.

She picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Nick?"

"Hey."

"Did you manage to find the surveillance room?"

"Yeah, I'm just chilling in it right now. I can see you."

"Where exactly?"

"Behind you."

She spun round and saw a not so hidden camera flashing at her. She gave it a big wave before going back to the transceiver.

"I waved back." Said Nick.

She giggled a little. "Thanks for that." After a small pause, she turned to more serious matters. "Do you see anyone?"

"Not right now. Just you, and lots of zombies." He replied. "It could take a while before a survivor shows up, and I don't even know if these cameras cover the whole town."

"I'll start looking around. Maybe they're holed up somewhere."

"That could actually be the case. Some survivors I've encountered have locked themselves into small rooms or places they think are secure. Try looking in some of the stores, maybe someone's sealed themselves in there?"

"Alright." She started running towards the high street.

As she ran, she wondered what about the Los Perdidos outbreak had broken Nick. It was clear that he used to be a happy person beforehand, but something had turned him into a more mature man.

She quickly got out her transceiver again. "Nick?"

"What's up?"

"What exactly happened in Los Perdidos?"

"...A lot of stuff."

"Like what?"

"Stuff that I wouldn't want you to see... Or any human to see for that matter. Let's just say it's taken me a while to accept that it really happened, and that it wasn't just an awful nightmare."

"It's not just Diego, is it?"

The transceiver was dead in her hand for a moment.

"...No." Nick said finally. "No, some other shit happened." He paused. "...Look, can we talk about this some other time? It brings back bad memories when I think about that... That hell..."

"Man, it must've scarred you so badly..."

"It did. I saw a lot of terrible, corrupt things happen before my eyes. I don't know how I kept my sanity intact during it, maybe it was because of my crush on Annie at the time?"

Sensing his sadness from the other side of the line, April changed the subject. "You love your girlfriend a lot, don't you?"

"With all my heart."

"What are you going to do when you get back to her?"

"I'll probably hug her and stuff... You know?"

"You sound unsure."

"I'm not exactly used to this whole boyfriend thing yet... I still get nervous when I talk to her sometimes."

She chuckled. "Oh my god Nick..."

"Come on, this is my first relationship, cut me some slack."

April continued up the street. There seemed to be less zombies than last time, and the ones lying on the ground, truly dead, had bullet punctures on their bodies.

"Nick, I think Augustus's unit have been through here, there's more zombies mowed down with bullets than there is live ones."

"Shit... That's not good. They're probably looking for us throughout the city."

Outside of a small convenience store, dead bodies were all sprawled on the ground, zombies and survivors alike. They had all been shot mercilessly.

"Holy shit, that's a corpse party if I ever saw one." Nick exclaimed in horror. "If these were recent, that means they could still be around."

April looked up from the bodies and saw a wounded man inside the store. She immediately rushed inside.

The body of the store owner was laying facedown on the ground. Her clothes were bloodied and ruined.

April turned back to the man and knelt beside him.

"Are you okay?"

The man had a bullet wound on his arm. He held it as he moaned in pain. "Please... Help me..." He begged.

"H-Hold on, I'll try to find a first aid kit for you." She called Nick again as she looked around. "Nick, there's a man, but he's hurt."

"I can only see half of him from the camera outside, he looks familiar to me..."

The man continued to grunt and moan. "P-Please..."

Her transceiver started ringing again.

She picked it up. "What's up, Nick?" She asked as she kept looking.

"Kill him." He said firmly.

She stopped. "...What?"

"I recognise that guy. He's with the ZDC. Kill him."

"But he doesn't-"

"April, I don't want you getting hurt. I gave that man Zombrex back in Los Perdidos, because he was about to die. But now that he's caused this outbreak..."

"Nick, we don't know if he-"

"He's ZDC, we can't afford to trust him. Kill him, now."

Overhearing the conversation, the man looked at April in fright, slowly shaking his head.

April clicked her gun before taking careful aim. It shook in her hands.

"April, I know this is hard for you, but you're doing the right thing." Nick assured. "Kill him." He said slowly.

April stared at him. The man swallowed and stared back, ready to accept his fate.

"Play dead." April mouthed at him.

The man looked puzzled.

She fired at the wall, just inches away from his head.

Now understanding the words, the man went limp against the wall, head bowed and arms at his sides.

She slowly lowered her gun.

Nick's voice crackled through the transceiver again. "That's one less ZDC agent to worry about."

She didn't reply.

"...Trust me April, I know it was difficult for you, but at least you're out of danger, right?"

"I was never out of danger in the first place." She replied harshly.

The small piece of tech was silent in her hand for a moment.

"...I know I've pissed you off, but I just want to keep you safe."

Her expression didn't change.

"...I'll leave you to cool down for a little while. Maybe I could start work on the car and such."

"Nick, I've just killed someone who could've helped us." She snapped. "And you're just happy to go and pretend it didn't happen?"

"April, it was better to kill him than to let him hurt you-"

"Well what if he didn't want to hurt me? Huh? Would you still want to kill him then?"

"I don't want to risk-"

"Risk what!? The guy was wounded! I could've easily disarmed him!"

"Just listen to me! I need to keep you safe! I'm the adult! And you're MY responsibility! The last-"

"Stop treating me like a child!" She yelled. "I don't need you or anyone to babysit me!"

There was a long pause between them both.

"...Ugh, fine. Go and get killed, see if I care." He spat back, and cut off.

April had half a mind to break the transceiver completely, but she knew better than that. She waited a few seconds before ripping off some cloth from the corpse's clothes and wrapping it round the man's arm.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

Nick stormed out of the surveillance room, slamming the door behind him.

"Who the fuck does she think she is?" He muttered as he went through the corridor. "Selfish little..." But he stopped himself. "...What am I saying? I can't call her stuff like that... That's childish."

He fell onto the couch and stared at the ceiling. Thoughts of Annie snuck into his mind. He hoped she was still outside the town with her Dad, waiting for him. She was probably worried sick about him. Before he could stop himself, his eyes shut and he fell asleep.

He awoke again to find himself in a dark room. One light was shining down on him, but everywhere else was an abyss.

"What the hell?"

"Nick! Nick!"

"Rhonda!?" He sharply turned to the direction of the voice.

"Nick!"

He turned again. "Kenny?"

One by one, more and more familiar voices started calling his name, to the point where it was nothing but noise.

Nick looked in all directions, but couldn't see anyone.

Suddenly, all the voices stopped.

Nick looked around. "What's going on?"

"Nick!"

He spun round and his eyes went wide.

In front of him, strapped to a probing table, was Diego.

"...D...Diego...?"

"Nick!" He yelled. "Nick help me!"

After his sentence, a laser pierced his body and he let out an agonising scream.

"No..." He whispered. "Not again... NOT AGAIN!" He screamed.

Worms forced their way out of Diego, tearing the poor man apart in the process.

A faint chuckle came from behind Nick. "Come on Nick, I thought you'd be used to this by now."

He turned around.

Standing there, was Annie's ex, Red. He had a forceful grip on April, who was squirming around and trying to get away.

"Red? But... You..."

Red laughed. "Surprised to see me? I'm back from the grave. And I've got a little cutie right here."

"Let her go now!" Nick rushed towards him. But as he got close to Red, he hit something and fell over. "What the..." He stuck his hand out. "...Glass?"

Red just laughed. "Gotta watch that temper, Nicky boy."

Nick felt his way around. He was trapped in a glass box! He banged his fists on it. "Let me out!"

"It was a mistake for my girl to choose you. Just seeing you helpless and trapped really makes me happy. Even Annie would be laughing at you now."

"You're wrong!" He punched the glass.

Red just simply gave him a sly smile. "I told you Nick, I'm a realist. My girl's gonna break up with you, and regret ever crossing me. She's not into wimps who cry when their shitty best friend dies."

Nick felt more enraged. "You take that BACK!" He kicked and punched, but to no avail.

"Well, I'm just gonna take this cute little girl. Nice talking to you." Red flung April over his shoulder and carried her away.

"Nick! Nick help!" April struggled, but Red's grip on her was far too strong.

"April!" He yelled. "APRIL!" He growled as he punched the glass some more. "APRIL!"

He awoke again, and sat up. His whole body was shaking and coated in cold sweat.

"I-It was just a dream..." He said. He folded his arms around himself. His face screwed up. "It was just a dream, Nick..." He bowed his head.

After a moment, he started sobbing quietly. He covered his face with one of the cushions and cried into it.

Nick was a lonely person. The only friends he had were Annie and April. Him and Annie's Dad weren't on good terms yet, and Dick had run off. Because of Nick, Annie and her Dad couldn't stay in the same town for too long, lest they got caught. He didn't have any other friends, and he couldn't make any because he was constantly on the run. Nick felt that everything that was happening was his fault. If he'd just turned himself in...

"...I..." He wiped his reddened eyes. "I need to go find April... Where was it that she liked to hang out? The forest, wasn't it?" He studied the map April had left on the table, and noted a green block north of the city. "That must be it. It's pretty big..." He added with a worried look.

Nick went down the stairs and out of the building, taking a few weapons with him.

After a while he came across the forest. The only problem was that it was at the bottom of a large crater, and a ragged cliff face lay beyond the fence in front of Nick.

"How the hell am I going to get down there?" He searched around for stone stairs, or at least something that would make his descent easier.

A branch stretching out over the fence caught his eye. It was a little thin, but nevertheless looked stable enough to hold a man. But was Nick really willing to put his trust into something that could crack and break? Besides, he didn't even know how heavy he was.

Nick took a deep breath, and put one foot onto the branch. Nothing. He pulled himself further on to it. Still nothing. It made a creaking sound after Nick had his whole body on it, but nothing else happened.

"Oh my god..." He breathed. The height was making him feel dizzy. He crawled up the branch.

Suddenly another loud crack came from below him.

He looked down to see the branch beginning to bend and snap.

"Oh sh-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the branch gave way and Nick went tumbling down. He hit a few more branches on the way, which further wounded him, and after hitting the ground with a loud "THUMP" he fell unconscious.

He fluttered open his eyes again. The sky was now a rosy pink, and the orange leaves above floated gently onto the ground like petals.

His body felt numb in some areas, he discovered this as he tried to sit up.

He noticed a small campfire beside him before a hand pushed him back down.

"Rest." Said a voice.

"Who the fuck...?" Nick was too dazed to string together his words. "Why am I... What the fuck..."

"Just lie down."

"...April? Is that you?"

After blinking a few times, he felt relieved when he saw her face.

"You really need to stop hurting yourself." April pressed something warm against his forehead. "You tried to climb that tree, didn't you?"

"What gave it away?" He replied. "...Why are you wet?"

She shook her soaked hair. "I went swimming in the lake. Needed to cool off after... That."

"...Listen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said to you. I was just being a dick."

April ignored him and placed his hand on his forehead. "Hold it there." Then she went over to campfire.

"April are you even listening to me?"

"I am."

"Well, why the cold shoulder?"

"I guess I'm still a little shocked. What prompted you to say that to me?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to make you feel bad about making me angry."

"...Nick, that's really.."

"Selfish. I know. But I was wrong and I'm sorry. I just want to know if you forgive me or not."

"I want to forgive you. But you need to explain something to me..."

"What?"

She held up a document to him. "What is this? And why are you referred to as Lisa Jackson?"

"Let me see that." He took it from her.

The document had "12. Lisa Jackson" written on it. In brackets beside the name was "(Name changed for protection)". A photo of a small Hispanic boy was pasted on. He looked pretty miserable, not a trace of a smile was on his face.

"...Oh shit, I remember this! Well, just barely. The only thing I can remember was this guy telling me to look at the camera."

"How come you have a girls' name on this document?"

"I honestly don't know..." He replied, scratching his head.

"It has all the details about you... Your birth date, your height, your weight, everything. Are you that important?"

Nick shifted his eyes a little. "I guess I am."

April turned his head to the side. "Yeesh, you've got a big bruise on your neck."

"How bad is it?"

"It's practically purple."

"Oh, that explains why my voice is kind of croaky."

She shook her head and handed Nick an apple. "Eat this."

"No thanks. I'm good."

"Nick, you fell out of a tree, a big one at that, you need to eat and regain your strength. The heist is today, remember?"

"Oh yeah..." He tried to sit up, but recoiled in pain.

April held him up. "Just relax, we don't need to rush. It's only 6."

They stared at eachother.

"...I feel like this should be the other way around."

"Well... It does look a bit weird. But that's because you're bigger and older than me." She said.

"Thanks for helping me... Even after our argument."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still a little mad at you, but I would never leave you to die." She shined a friendly smile at him. "Now go on, eat. You need it." She offered him the apple again.

He took it and April sat him up. He was hunched over slightly because of his injuries, but at least he wasn't dead.

He bit into the ruby red apple as April checked him over for more injuries.

"Does swallowing hurt?" She asked.

"A little..." He replied, holding his throat.

"Take it easy for now. You've bashed yourself pretty badly."

"How can I do the heist like this?" Nick gestured to his cuts and bruises. "I can't believe I've whacked myself up so much..."

"We'll just have to bandage you up and hope for the best. I need you for this, there could be tons of agents in that building."

"Yeah I know.."

"...Oh! Nick, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"U-Umm..." She looked embarrassed as she avoided his gaze. Suddenly, she whipped out a notebook and held it out to him. "C-Can you sign this?"

"...Huh?"

"I-I'm... Collecting signatures... Heh heh... And I thought... Since you were a famous survivor... I could have yours."

"...You want me to write my signature? I mean, I'm not famous like Frank West or..."

"You survived the Los Perdidos outbreak! That alone is enough to grant you fame! Well, in my eyes anyway." She opened up a page in the notebook. "Come on, do it for me. Please?"

He looked at the book, then at her, then at the book again. "...Alright." He took it. "But don't expect anything fancy."

He turned away from her and started scribbling. April tried to peer over his shoulder, but she couldn't see anything without getting too close for comfort.

"There." He gave it back to her. "I hope you can read it at least."

The signature was a little bit scratchy, and the writing was wobbly. But she could still make out the words "Nick Ramos" on it.

"I didn't learn how to write until I was 16." He explained. "I'm trying to get better. But I still need help spelling some words, or writing stuff out."

"That's okay. I've got your signature at least, I don't mind if it's wobbly."

He turned his gaze to the sky, where bright blue was starting to emerge from beneath the pink. "Should we head off?"

"Yeah. Town Hall's a pretty long way from here."

After April stomped out the campfire, they left the clearing and started trekking through the endless labyrinth of trees.

 **End of Chapter 9**


	10. Chapter 10: Infiltration

Time until the military arrives: 90 hours, 32 minutes and 45 seconds.

Nick and April were crouching behind a car. The town hall was right in front of them, ready to be breached. Finally, after all this time, they would learn the truth. Why this tragedy happened, and who was to blame.

April checked her phone. "Two minutes till 8:30.." She muttered.

"What are we going to do when we get in there? Just follow their directions?"

"Pretty much."

Nick looked at the building. "There's people in the windows..."

"What? Where?"

He pointed to one of them. There, walking back and forth, was the silhouette of a man holding a gun.

"Aww shit, who knows how many could be in there. For all I know, they're waiting for us at the entrance."

"But if Zoey IS in there, how is she hiding from all of them?"

"I don't know. Probably sealed herself up somewhere." She brought out her transceiver. "Penelope? We're ready."

Some loud huffing was heard on the device.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." Penelope grunted. "Someone just came in and attacked us last night, that's all."

"Woah woah woah, what? Who?"

"A man. Said he was looking for you."

April felt her stomach turn. "...Was he wearing sunglasses?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact."

It was like someone had stabbed her. "Axel..." She said through gritted teeth. "Is anyone hurt?"

"No, thankfully. He just came in and demanded your current location, while aiming a gun at my head. Hide took him out before he could shoot anyone, and he ran off, claiming he'd be back again."

"I should've been there... I would have killed him with my own two hands. I would have murdered that little fucker in cold blood and-" Her voice was getting louder as more rage consumed her.

Nick held her shoulders. "April, calm down."

"But he nearly killed them! And I wasn't there to-"

"Just breathe, alright? We didn't know this would happen. Calm yourself. Getting worked up about it will make you feel worse."

She closed her eyes and took some deep breaths.

"...You alright?"

"Yeah."

"You've calmed down now?"

"Yeah... Yeah." She turned back to the transceiver. "Sorry about that Penelope. Just had to blow off some steam."

"No worries." There was a small pause. "Alright, get ready, Hide's at the last firewall. When he's taken it down, he'll switch off the cameras, and that's when you and Nick burst in there."

"Penelope, Nick has seen people in the windows, holding guns."

"Really? I thought it was empty..." She muttered something else but her voice was too low to understand it. "Just prepare yourselves. Get your weapons ready."

Before April could argue, Nick tapped her shoulder and offered her one of his weapons.

"Take this if it makes you feel safer."

She grimaced at the small electric current dancing around the traffic light part.

"...are you sure it's safe?" She asked cautiously.

"Yeah. There's no electric flow going through where you're holding it. You might get little shocks from time to time, but nothing too deadly."

The moment she took it from him Penelope's voice came crackling through the transceiver again.

"Get to the door, now."

Nick and April dashed up to the doors, and waited beside it for the countdown.

"Let's hope for the best." Said Nick.

"Let's hope there's actually documents in here." Replied April.

"Alright, I'm going to count down. Once I get to three, you and Nick get yourselves in there."

They both locked their eyes with the door.

"1..."

April quickly glanced at Nick, checking if he was okay.

"2..."

Nick clenched his Sledgesaw tightly.

"3."

April and Nick kicked the doors open, and rushed inside.

They held their weapons and stood their ground, waiting for masses of soldiers to come running towards them.

But strangely, there was nothing.

The whole hall was empty, with papers scattered on the desks and on the chairs. The lights reflecting off the tiles below them only emphasised the silence further.

"...It's a bit too quiet, don't you think?"

"Yeah..." April kept her guns locked as she scanned around the room. She checked under the desks and behind any corners, but there was no one except them, not even a ZDC agent camping under the stairs. The absence of agents and soldiers was too odd for April's liking.

"They're probably hiding throughout the rest of the building." Nick said.

"Probably." April picked up her transceiver. "Alright Penelope, we're in. Where to now?"

"We have the map right here. Hide will give directions to you as we go, I'll tell Zoey that you're in."

There was a small pause as Penelope passed the device to Hide.

"...Hello?"

"Hey Hide."

"April, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Really? No scratches or bruises?"

"Nope." She cocked an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"...No reason." He answered. "Ok, from where you are now, go up the stairs to your left."

April galloped up the stairs, with Nick trailing behind. He wasn't as athletic as her, and frankly, stairs were his personal hell.

"Shit, my legs..." Nick panted. "Holy crap, they're aching really badly."

"Come on Nick, I thought you said you'd had worse." April pulled him up.

"Yeah, but this..." He huffed and wheezed. "Jesus Christ."

"Oh my god, you're like an old man." She laughed.

Eventually, they made it up the stairs. Nick was so winded that he fell to his knees.

"Next time, I'm taking the fucking elevator..."

After Nick had recovered, they continued through.

Still no soldiers in the corridor. This was getting fishy. Why would the Mayor allow city hall to be breached like this? Did he even know it had been broken into at all?

"No guys in here either? I don't like this..." Nick went a little ahead of April and scoured around.

"There were men with guns, we both saw them, so they must be in the building somewhere."

"Right. I mean, they wouldn't leave important documents unguarded."

"Hide, where do we go from here?" She asked.

"Straight up the corridor, then take a left. You should reach some stairs."

They ran until they got to a huge staircase, made of marble. No spec ops, or ZDC agents were present to blow their heads off. Just what was going on?

"Do you think they're not here for a reason?"

"I don't know. But we'd better press on."

They went up the stairs and came to a large door. April signalled Nick to wait, before gently pushing it open, gun in her left hand. She peeked inside, opening the door a little bit more to let some light in. April couldn't see anything that looked like a person, so she opened the door wider and let Nick go in.

"There's got to be a light switch somewhere." Nick felt his way around the walls. His fingers touched something that felt like a button. He pressed it and light flooded the room.

A lot of the furniture was draped with white sheets, and paintings were placed in the corners of the room.

April's transceiver rang again.

"April, right now you're in the Mayor's Office."

"What? But it looks like an unfinished room."

"It does?"

"Yeah. White sheets are on the furniture, the walls could use a paint job, and there's no computer here either."

"Hmm. The Mayor might have bolted out of there recently, probably wanted to cover his tracks too. Try looking around, maybe some evidence is in his desk?"

April pulled off the sheet in front of her, and was surprised to see papers fly off it as she did. A mahogany desk was in front of her, with paperwork on it, some of which was now scattered on the floor. Together, they looked through them.

"Phenotrans... Mallon..." She paused at the next name. "...Carlito...Keyes...?"

Nick looked at her.

"...terrorist that caused the Willamette outbreak...with some help from his sister... He supposedly died in the outbreak... So, we had to interrogate his sister about a... "Cure"?" She was baffled and confused. "A cure? For what? The virus?"

Nick averted his eyes, frowning.

"I'll keep this with me just in case." She put it in her pocket, and began walking into the next room. "Nick, come on."

He stared at the desk in a trance.

"Nick? Are you okay?"

He snapped out of it once she touched his shoulder.

"Uh... Yeah! Yeah! C-Come on, let's go." He quickly hurried out of the room.

"...What's up with him?" She looked back at the desk, but couldn't see anything odd about it, so she followed Nick into the next room.

This room at least had a window. It was covered with a curtain, but it was a source of light. The room was wrecked. Chairs were knocked over, and papers were all over the floor.

But that wasn't what caught their attention.

There was someone in the room with them.

A man was bent over, and searching one the drawers in the desk.

April stepped closer to him. "...Brad..?"

The man spun round quickly.

"You again?" He stood up straight. "What are you doing here?"

Nick felt a burning rage inside of him. "You..."

He turned to Nick. "Wait, you're the man from Los Perdidos who-"

Nick grabbed his throat and pinned him to the wall. "YOU FUCKING CAUSED THIS, YOU MONSTER."

Brad choked helplessly. "W-What...are you.."

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME! I KNOW YOU'RE THE ONE BEHIND THIS."

April grabbed Nick's arm. "Nick! Stop! He's not one of them!"

"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF BEING FUCKING LIED TO BY YOU!" He turned his free hand into a fist.

"Nick, please!" She cried. "Please stop! Don't hurt him! I'm begging you!"

Nick looked down at her, and his expression changed from rage to an almost pained look, as if he thought he was hurting her instead of him. He looked at Brad and April several times, as if debating with himself. Finally, with small hesitance, he released Brad from his grip, and let him fall to the floor.

He coughed and gasped, a red mark now present on his neck.

April knelt beside him. "Brad, are you okay?"

"Yes... Yes I'm fine." He breathed harshly.

Nick stared at him with burning hatred in his eyes. "Give me one good reason why we should trust you."

"...I..."

"Exactly what I thought." He got out his Sledgesaw and began marching towards him.

April jumped in front of him and tried to hold Nick back. "Nick stop!" He was pretty strong, and April found herself sliding back.

"That man is ZDC. If we let him follow us, he'll kill us, and the other survivors."

"He's not with the ZDC anymore!"

Nick came to a halt and looked down at her. "What?"

"He cut his chip out, and he says he's trying to find evidence that Hemlock was behind Los Perdidos."

"And I also evacuated the remaining survivors, via a helicopter." Brad added.

"How come they're not with you?" Nick asked, in an interrogative tone.

"...the military shot them down the moment I got them off the helicopter." He replied rather grimly.

Nick froze up entirely. Everything started shaking, and his heart was pounding in his chest.

"No..." He put a hand over his face.

"But," said Brad, "some did manage to escape. I got away with a man and a woman-"

Nick grabbed his shoulders. "Did the woman have a metal arm?"

He blinked, understandably startled. "Y-Yes, why do you ask?"

Nick let go, but still kept his shocked expression. "Rhonda's alive!? But I thought..."

"What did you think Nick?"

"The news told us that Los Perdidos was firebombed, and that was it. I just assumed Rhonda died in that firebombing. But, she's alive..."

Brad and April shared a look.

"Yes... But I haven't seen them after that." He replied.

"What?"

"Rhonda ran off with the man after we were safely away from the base. I haven't seen them since."

"Oh..." Nick frowned. "At least she's alive, I guess..."

"What are you doing here, Brad?" April asked.

"Well, after what happened last night, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Since the Mayor and Hemlock were friends, I thought that there must be something in here, something that will expose what really happened in Los Perdidos." Brad answered. "If only that black box hadn't been destroyed..." He muttered.

"Me and Nick came in here looking for evidence too. We haven't found much so far... Just something about a "cure"."

"They're still going on about that?" Brad rolled his eyes. "That fantasy has been relentlessly chased lately."

"Well, anyway," Nick hastily changed the subject, "how about, for now, we work together? We get what we need, and then we get out, alright?"

April stared at him. "...Nick, are you sure you're okay? You sound nervous for some reason."

"I-I'm fine. Trust me."

"Okay..." She gave him a concerned and suspicious look before turning to Brad. "I know you told me to stay away from you, but we're practically in the same boat now, the ZDC is after us too."

"What? What the hell did you two do?"

"That's not important right now. At this moment, we need to work together and get those documents."

Brad reluctantly agreed. "Alright. But as soon as I get what I need, we can't cross paths again. I feel like I'm putting you in more danger if we're acquaintances."

Nick gave him another hate filled glare. "Don't try and butter her up..." He stormed off.

"...I don't understand," Brad looked at April, "why does he hate me so much? I'm not with the ZDC anymore..."

"I don't know Brad... Nick's not an easy guy to read. Well, when he's not lying anyway. Don't pay any mind to him, maybe he'll warm up to you."

"Hopefully."

They trailed after Nick into another corridor. This corridor was dimly lit, with ugly green wallpaper plastered. Nick kept his distance from Brad, staring daggers into him every now and then. Brad wasn't terrified, he was more confused as to Nick's hostility towards him. What did he do that made Nick hate him so much?

"Hide says any room in the corridor could have the documents, he doesn't know which ones exactly. I'll try searching in this room first, you two wait out here."

"Let me open the door for you."

Brad and Nick both reached for the handle, they stopped and stared at eachother.

"O-Oh... Umm.." Brad looked a little embarrassed.

Nick was not amused in the slightest. "...I've been with her longer. So I think I should open the door, actually." He said, with strong spite. He swung the door open, almost slamming it into Brad's face, and ushered April inside. "We'll wait here for you, knock twice if you're in trouble."

"Are you sure you two will be okay alone?"

"Oh I think we'll be just fine." Nick replied firmly, narrowing his eyes at Brad. The anger in Nick was so visible it could be seen from space.

"...Alright. Be sure to shout if you see any guards." She went inside.

The two were left there, staring at eachother. Nick looked about ready to throw a punch at him, while Brad shifted away, obviously uncomfortable in Nick's presence.

"I hope you're happy with what you've done." Nick said, with clear malice in his voice.

Brad didn't reply.

Thankfully, April came back out after a few minutes. She had a look of disappointment on her face.

"Did you find anything?"

She shook her head. "No. Just graphs and other business stuff."

"This is fucking ridiculous..." Nick muttered. "Did they burn them already?"

"I hope not..."

"We should move on."

They went into the next room. More finance papers and stock market stats. The next room. Finance papers and stock market stats. The next room. Stock market stats and finance papers. April felt herself going mad, were they even going into different rooms? It all looked the same, with the chairs in exactly the same place, and the papers scattered in very specific ways.

They left the last room in disappointment.

April slid down onto the floor and hid her face from the two men.

Nick knelt down and comforted her. "It's alright April, we'll find them."

"But what if they've already disposed of them?" April looked up. "What do we do then, Nick?"

"...we'll think of something, with or without the truth. Right now, you need to keep cool and calm. Sitting down and worrying about the "what ifs" will slow everything down."

Brad knelt down too, earning a slightly confused look from Nick. "Even if we don't get the documents, we can't lose hope. Who knows what Phenotrans will do if we decide to throw in the towel."

"You're both right. I just hope there's at least some sort of clue in here. I want answers, for fuck sake."

With the talk over, they continued on, desperately searching for documents, photos, anything. But alas, there was nothing. Had the ZDC already cleaned this place out? April prayed from the bottom of her heart that they hadn't.

The group stopped in front of a weird barricade. It was a pile of crates, in a corridor of all places. There was no doubt that this was put up recently, but what for? Was the evidence they needed perhaps behind it? April noticed a gap at the top of it, a gap big enough for her to climb over.

"Alright, I'm going to need a boost up there."

Brad bent down and cupped his hands.

With a small nod, April stepped into them and Brad lifted her upwards. She grabbed the highest box and pulled herself onto it.

"Remember to yell if you're in trouble." Said Nick.

"I will." And then she dropped down onto the other side.

Nick and Brad stood together, awaiting her return. The tension between them was still strong. They took a few looks at eachother but quickly cast their gazes elsewhere.

After an awkward silence, Brad decided to try and start a chat. "So... It's been a while since you... Saved me."

"Yeah." Replied Nick. "About a year and 5 months."

"Have you... Recovered at all?"

"What the fuck do you think?" He spat back. "Does this look like someone who's recovered from that god awful nightmare?" He turned his back on Brad.

"Well, that was a good chat." Brad thought. Though he still didn't understand the cause for Nick's hate, he didn't strike up any further conversation, and simply waited for April to come back.

"I can't believe this..." April muttered as she closed the door behind her. "Still nothing!" She sighed and brushed her hair out of her face.

She was about to go back to Nick and Brad when suddenly her phone buzzed.

"...Must be Dad." She mumbled as she fished through her pockets. But when she saw who the sender was, her heart stopped.

Zoey: I'm glad you could make it April.

The phone shook in her hands.

"How the hell did she get my number...?"

Zoey: Do not be afraid. I mean no harm to you.

Zoey: I want to show you something.

April swallowed and started typing.

April: What is it?

Zoey: Come into the room on your right, and I will explain everything.

A clicking sound came from the door on the right.

Zoey: I also reside in that room. Please do not be afraid.

She put the phone away and made her way to the door. Her hand slowly creeped onto the handle and, after taking a breath, she creaked it open and walked inside.

Bookshelves took up most of the walls in the room. A large window showing the outside world was at the very end.

April looked around. This was a neat place, but where was Zoey?

Suddenly, the door was shut and as April spun round, a figure was standing by one of the bookcases.

It smiled at her. "I've been waiting for you, April Freemore."

 **End of Chapter 10**


	11. Chapter 11: The Truth?

A slim tanned woman stood before her. Her dark hair had small traces of silver in it, clearly she wasn't young. Though she was smiling, her face looked a little withered, and a scar was present on her cheek. Her clothes were torn and ruined, like she had just been through a war. There was a small badge on her shirt, a blue badge with hexagon patterns and with the words "Phenotrans" at the bottom.

"It has been a long time, April." The Spanish woman continued to smile. "I'm so happy to see you again." She started to walk towards April with open arms.

April was creeped out by this. She slowly backed away. "Who the hell are you? And how do you know me?"

She stopped in her tracks, letting her arms fall by her sides. "Ah yes, you probably don't remember me, you were only 3 when we first met."

"I don't know what you're talking about." April said firmly. "Tell me who you are."

"I'm Isabela Keyes." She replied.

April paused. "..Isabela...Keyes...?"

"Yes. Do you remember me? Your father was visiting the Phenotrans facility I used to work at, and he brought you along."

Slowly but surely, everything was trickling back. The confined walls, her father holding her close as they were passing zombie cages, the woman in a wheelchair, these faint memories were becoming more vibrant as she kept trying to remember.

"I... I remember... This lady bound to a wheelchair... She pointed somewhere...and then some guards took me to another room... My mind goes blank after that."

"Those guards took you to me, April. They sealed you in a room where I was present, and I looked after you until your father came to get you."

"...I don't remember that... But Isabela Keyes does sound familiar... Hey, wait a minute... Didn't you cause the Willamette outbreak with your brother?" She asked interrogatively.

Seeing her hand reach for her gun, Isabela pleaded. "April please! Yes, I helped him, but it's not like you think! There have been so many lies told about me, for too long! Me and brother have been shunned, and I've been treated like the scum of the Earth. But I want to help you, and expose the truth!"

April hesitated. "But you work for Phenotrans. How do I know that you're not going to lure me into a trap and kill me?"

"I didn't willingly work for them. It was either Phenotrans, or jail. And that bastard, Frank West, didn't defend me, he just left me to suffer while he gained fame, and his own show!" She yelled. "...He left me... Just like Chuck and Nick did."

"Nick?"

"Yes, Nick Ramos... Number 12. I rescued him from the clutches of Mallon, and he goes off with his girlfriend to god-knows-where."

Was this the truth that Nick was trying to hide from her? April thought he'd stolen something or committed a terrible crime. But it appeared that Nick was more than just a man who saved her life.

"But you April, I know you will stay with me to the very end. Maybe you could bring Nick with you? I'd like to talk to him and catch up." She grabbed her hand. "Come, there are some things I must show you."

April stood her ground and didn't move.

"Please April, it's to do with the outbreak, and it will help you understand who did this."

"...I don't trust you entirely.. But fine, I'll follow you."

Isabela led her into another room, still holding her hand. April tried to worm her hand out, but Isabela had a tight grip on her, and marched through with the utmost urgency.

She came to another door, where she let go of April, and rammed into it. After a few hits, it jutted open.

"How did you get in here Isabela? The road out of here is blocked."

"Helicopter." She answered after taking a breath. "Come, come, we can't waste time."

Using all her strength, Isabela pushed the door open, and ushered April inside.

They were back in the Mayor's Office!

A secret door laid behind some furniture and paintings. April kind of liked the idea of a secret place, but whatever was the reason for it?

Isabela closed the door behind her. It blended in with the wall perfectly.

She charged over to the Mayor's desk and opened one of the drawers, where a keyboard was amalgamated into the wood.

"Stand back." Said Isabela, as she pressed one of the keys.

The floor opened up, and a spiral staircase leading down appeared. April couldn't make out anything in the darkness below.

"Come." Isabela took her hand once more and led her into the unknown.

April's stomach churned as they descended further and further into the abyss. The bottom was pitch black, and Isabela had to feel her way to where she needed to be.

"We are almost there, do not worry."

April couldn't see Isabela at all, she could only feel her hand, and hear her voice and her heels.

Suddenly, she let go. April was left in the dark, with no clue where the exit was and no sense of direction.

Feeling anxious, she called Isabela. "Isabela? Are you still there?"

There was no reply.

"Isabela?"

A sudden burst of light caused April to shut her eyes tightly. She could hear the whirring sound of machines, and a robotic voice saying "Welcome, Mayor Samson."

After a while, she slowly opened her eyes, and gasped.

She was surrounded by computers, glass tubes, and stacks of research. The glass containers had Queens in them, tons of Queens at that. Beside them, on a desk, was a pile of glass jars, also containing Queens. But, the most disturbing thing about them was that there, rolled out on the desk, was a map of Lydonhole. Red X's were marked on it, one of the X's was on April's school.

Slowly, everything started falling into place. April just assumed the whole outbreak started due to a domino effect by the student who was bitten. But it appeared that another, more powerful, force was involved in all this.

"It wasn't just your friend that caused all of this." Isabela began. "After he took the zombies, some ZDC agents went undercover as substitute teachers to your school. Then, when no one was looking, they dropped the jars around the grounds. Some agents got stung and were zombified, but the rest moved on to the city, and released the rest of the Queens."

"...But why?" April asked. "Why would they do this?"

Isabela took her hands. "April, do you remember in 2021? When Phenotrans was shut down?"

"Yeah. But when John Kilduff was appointed Head of Security, he managed to persuade the government to lend him money to reopen it."

"Do you know why?"

"I remember him saying some shit about making Zombrex chips that contained a more advanced formula, but other than that, no."

"After Phenotrans was reopened, they were critically low on Queens. Just turning homeless people or kidnapped people was not enough to make Zombrex chips for a whole country. No one trusted Phenotrans anymore after Los Perdidos, they believed their own chips would turn off, and that they would turn. So Kilduff decided to remake the chips, falsely promising a more advanced formula with it."

April had a look on her face, a look of defeat and depression.

"...You've figured it out, haven't you April?"

She just stared. It was as if the previous April had left, and standing before Isabela was the husk of an empty person.

"...We don't mean anything to them." Anger sprung from her voice. "All we are is free money!"

She was about to punch one of the containers, but Isabela seized her hand.

"April don't! If you break that container, the Queens will get free and we'll both die!"

She lowered her hand, but kept her sharp glare. "I want to stop them, to make them pay for what they've done."

"You're not alone. There are many who have tried to stop Phenotrans, but failed. They are far too powerful to be stopped immediately." She beckoned her over to a computer. "Come, there is something else you must see."

Isabela began typing something into the terminal.

April snapped a few photos of the map and jars containing Queens. "Why us? We're not even that big."

"Your town's population is exactly 500."

"Yeah, so?"

"Did you ever wonder why they wanted to keep it at that number? Why they wouldn't let outsiders move in, or let any of the residents reproduce?"

"I did ask Dad once, but he just avoided the question all together."

Isabela brought up a list of files, each with numbers and names. April recognised some of them.

"...Is this... Is this everyone living in Lydonhole?"

"Yes."

"...Why are they numbered?"

She scrolled down the list.

15: Katie Vern

16: David Tucker

17: Regina Set

28: Lyris Stevens

37: Goldy, Augustus, and Lavina Ashton

89: Dennis Cooper

106: Erin Toss

346: Samuel Wooddocks

467: Hide Katajima

As she continued to scroll through, more questions burrowed into her mind. Why were they all numbered, like cattle or sheep? Was this related to the number 12 tattooed on Nick's neck? All these questions were rushing to her brain, and stressing her out the more she thought about them.

Finally, she arrived at number 500.

500: April Freemore

"...You were the last person to be granted access into the town." Explained Isabela. "This town was founded in 2007, the year you were born I believe."

She clicked on her name, and a wall of text presented itself on the screen.

April read it out. "500: April Freemore. The spirited daughter of Derek. While she may be cute to some, she is quite the annoyance to me. Derek tosses nearly everything aside to spend more time with her. I wonder how crushed she'll feel when he tells her the truth. The upcoming Lydonhole outbreak may be difficult with her around. After all, Derek would never kill his precious child. I must distribute some agents into the city, post outbreak of course. I believe Mr Reksew is fit for the job." She glared. "...Who the fuck wrote this?"

"Possibly the mayor or John Kilduff."

"Oh. Well, looks like I've got to rearrange two guys' kneecaps. By the looks of it, they've got a real bone to pick with me."

She went back to the main screen and fished through the rest of the files.

"...Hey.. I thought you said all the evidence was deleted off the computer and all on paper.." April said suspiciously.

"At the time, it was. But, thankfully, I was able to recover it. Well, most of it anyway."

"Why didn't you tell Penelope?"

Her question went unanswered, as another wall of text spread across the screen. Different towns and cities were listed, each with different populations.

Lydonhole: 500

Pembrooke: 1000

Drewsid: 1500

Reatrit: 2000

"...Why are they all going up in 500?" Then she noticed the name above the list. "..."Farms"...?" When she finally realised it, she froze up entirely, and stared blankly at the terminal screen. "...No... No... It can't..."

Isabela nodded solemnly. "It is, April."

She stared in fright. "...You're telling me... We're just a Zombrex farm...? That all of these cities are just..."

"Mallon had them built for emergencies. Just in case Phenotrans needed Queens quickly. Kilduff ordered that Phenotrans harvest this farm first. But I have no idea why, it has the smallest population of the cities."

"I know why..." April's eyes lit up with burning rage. "He wanted to get rid of me via an "accident". If I die in the outbreak, then Kilduff can't be accused of murdering me, because he never laid a hand on me in the first place. And he sent out agents to make sure that I'm killed." After her rant, she hid her face from view and looked down at the floor.

Isabela put her arm around her. "I'm sorry April, but you needed to know the truth."

"...No, don't be sorry." She looked up. "Thank you Isabela." April got out her phone and took a few more pictures. "Now I've got the evidence, and I know who I'm up against." She gazed at the Queens one last time. "I'd better get back to Nick and Brad."

"April wait!" Isabela grabbed her arm. "Please, let me come with you. I must speak to Nick."

"...About what?"

"Something confidential. Please, lead me to him. It won't take a minute."

Before April could reply, footsteps were heard above them. They were coming down the stairs.

"Oh no..." Isabela dragged April over to a locker and stuffed her inside of it. "Stay quiet, and do not come out until they are gone, do you understand?"

"Isabela, who are-"

She closed it before April could ask, and ran back to the terminal.

April peered through the slits in the locker.

A squad of Spec Ops entered the room, and immediately focused their guns onto Isabela. She raised her hands, as a sign that she was unarmed and had no intention of fighting back, and she gulped.

Another woman came walking into the room.

April thought it was her mother at first, because of her auburn hair. But this woman had her hair in a bun, while her mother had her's flowing and free. Her crystal blue eyes conveyed a stare that was hard as steel. She was wearing the normal Spec Ops uniform, with the exception of no helmet, and the logo for Phenotrans was sewn onto her right arm.

The woman stared at Isabela in silence. "...Keyes."

"..."

"...Do you remember what your job is?" She seized her by the collar. "Or do I need to remind you for the 100th fucking time? Because I sure as hell know that your job does not include tampering with the Mayor's files."

Isabela wriggled around in her grip.

She came closer to her face. "Have you recovered the girl?"

"N-No..."

Suddenly, Isabela was thrown halfway across the room, luckily one of the glass tubes stopped her from hitting a wall. A huge crack formed on the tube.

"I could easily replace you, Keyes, remember that." She turned to the others. "Take her back to the base."

"Yes, Fontana, sir." Two of the Spec Ops carried Isabela out, while the rest followed behind.

Fontana was about to leave, when she stopped, and locked eyes with the locker.

April felt her blood freeze. If she was strong enough to throw a grown woman across the room, imagine how easy a teenage girl like April would be to beat up.

She marched up to it and stared.

It was as if she was watching her, waiting for her to come out. April felt like prey, like she was a defenceless hare and Fontana was a fierce wolf just waiting to strike.

After a long moment, Fontana stepped away, turned her back on the locker, and walked out.

Once she was gone, April emerged from the locker, and gasped for air. Her heart had been pounding, and she dared not breathe to calm herself while in the locker, lest Fontana heard her. But she was gone now, so April felt miles safer.

"...I've got to find Nick and Brad."

Before fleeing the room, she grabbed the map on the table and rolled it up.

Thankfully, Fontana and her troops were not in the office. April hurried to the corridor, praying for Nick and Brad's safety.

To her relief, they were both still waiting for her to come back, staring at the wall of crates in silence.

April rushed up to them. "Nick! Brad!"

Nick didn't have much time to react, as April threw her arms around him.

"Woah, hey, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She presented the map. "I found this in the Mayor's Office."

"Did you find anything else? Or anyone else for that matter?"

"Well... I found out who Zoey really was. A woman named Isabela Keyes."

The moment she said that name, Nick suddenly looked very frightened. Like the name itself was the very embodiment of his nightmares.

"...Oh my god, are you okay Nick?"

After a moment, Nick's face hardened, and not a trace of a smile was on his face. It was like he had changed into a different person entirely. April (even though she only met him a few days ago) had never known Nick to be this serious.

Nick grabbed her hand. "We need to go."

April couldn't argue, as he had a vice-like grip on her, and was already dragging her up the corridor.

"N-Nick!" April tried to pull away, but Nick was far too strong. "Nick stop! Tell me what's going on!"

Brad jogged alongside them and attempted to free her.

"Nick, let her go now-"

Nick spun round and gave Brad a hard shove.

"Nick! Let me go!" She yelled, still squirming.

"We need to get away from here. If she finds me, she'll take me away again, and possibly harm you."

"What are you talking about!?" She pulled and struggled. "Nick!"

Her yells fell on deaf ears.

She hated to do it, but she knew it was the only way to get answers out of him.

April took hold of his wrist and twisted it.

Nick let out a yell and stopped in his tracks. "What the fuck!?"

She bent it forwards, causing Nick even more pain.

"Tell me what's going on, NOW."

"OKAY! JUST FUCKING STOP, YOU'RE HURTING ME!" He screamed.

She released him. Nick stood there, examining his wrist, as Brad came to April's side.

"...Nick," she began, "I'm sorry for doing that. But I need you to slow down and explain to me. Why are you so scared of Isabela Keyes? What does she want from you?"

He felt almost pained to meet her eyes. Should he really tell her truth right here and now? With an ex ZDC agent watching and listening in?

Nick beckoned her to come closer.

Once she did, his voice turned into a hushed whisper.

"I know you'll be pissed at me for saying this. But I can't tell you right now."

"Why not?"

"I'd prefer it if we were alone. You know, so no snitches can eavesdrop on us."

"Brad's not a snitch-"

"I'm not talking about Brad. I'm talking about Isabela and, hell, maybe even Kilduff." He placed his hand over hers. "I know I've said this over and over, but I will tell you later. Once we get back to Penelope, we'll give her the evidence, and then me and you will sit down and I'll explain everything, okay?"

She felt a little suspicious. What if Nick later on decided to pretend this conversation never happened? But April assured herself that she was probably overthinking. This time around, Nick actually looked honest, instead of nervous or trying to hide his fears, perhaps now he had come to realise he couldn't hide his secret from her forever.

She gave him a small nod. "Alright. But, Nick, if you forget about this, I am going to be so angry..."

"I won't, don't worry." He smiled quickly, before peering at Brad with a serious look. "Is he coming back with us?"

"Yeah." She answered.

"Okay. If you trust him, I guess it's fine for him to come back with us."

April hoped this would be the last she would see of Fontana or her squad. All she could think of now was getting out and seeing her father again. With Brad now on their side, surely it was all clear from here on out?

But April could have never been more wrong in her life.

They closed the doors behind them as they walked out into the apocalyptic world.

"Well, I'd say this heist's been pretty successful." Nick commented.

April frowned. "Yeah..."

"What's wrong?"

"It's just... I'll tell you when we get back."

Nick was about to ask something else.

Suddenly, a flash bang landed right in front of them.

"What the fuck!?" Nick jumped back in horror.

Brad knew exactly what was going to happen. He'd seen a flash grenade one time too many. "Quickly you two! Ru-"

It exploded and emitted smoke everywhere.

Everything happened so fast. Not even a second after it went off, heavy footsteps filled the air and commands were barked.

A spec ops soldier grabbed Nick and started dragging him away.

"Hey!" April chased them. "Let him go now!"

Nick was putting up a fight. "April, go! Get out of here!" He continued his struggle.

"I'm not leaving without you!" She tried to grab his hand but another spec ops punched her in the stomach, knocking her to the floor.

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE! YOU-" But before he could protest anymore, the back of an assault rifle struck his head, and he was knocked out cold.

"NICK!" She cried. As the soldier dashed to a van, carrying Nick, she leapt to her feet, and pursued them. "Let him go!" She got out her pistols and started shooting at them.

The Spec Ops soldier dumped Nick's body into the back of the van, and then got in the front.

"NICK!"

She tried to chase after the vehicle in desperation. But it zoomed out of view before she could even touch it.

Once it was truly gone, April dropped to her knees, and blankly stared at where the van was.

Brad had chased off the rest of the Spec Ops. He came back to April, rifle in his hands. "April? What's wrong? Where's Nick?"

"They took him... They fucking took him..."

"What for?"

"I don't know..."

Meanwhile, in the van, the soldier checked behind to make sure they weren't being follow. Then, he got out his transceiver.

"Commander Fontana, we've got the orphan."

"What about the girl?"

"Negative sir. Park took down the rest of our unit, we couldn't get our hands on her."

She sighed. "We'll deal with her later. Just get 12 back here. Make sure he's not harmed in transit. We need every single drop of that blood intact."

"Understood." He put it away, and shot through the rest of the zombies blocking the road.

Brad came down to April's level. "Don't worry, we'll get him back."

"But how? We don't even know where they've taken him." April stared down at the ground. "Maybe I could have saved him if I was stronger. Oh Nick..."

After a small pause, Brad got out his phone. "Tell me, April, what do you see here?"

April blinked at the image. "U-Uhhh... A shirtless guy?"

"Wait what?" He turned it towards himself, and recoiled in horror. "Oh, whoops." He quickly flicked through, looking away with embarrassment, before showing her the phone again. "What do you see now?"

"Is that a camp?"

"Yes. A makeshift prison camp in Los Perdidos. The military usually build these in big places around cities or towns."

"...Are you saying that maybe the military have done the same here?"

He nodded.

"...Big places..." April pondered. "Big places... Where would they build a-" She stopped. "Wait a minute... The school! Would they build one in my school, even though it's blown to hell?"

"Since they mainly use tents, a place like that would be perfect. Though a few solid classrooms or bathrooms would be nice for them too."

"We have to check it out!" She got back on her feet. "I know he's been cold towards you, but he's my best friend. You'll help me rescue him, won't you Brad?"

"Anything to prevail justice."

She smiled at him. "...We can't just waltz in there though..."

"Maybe there's a car around here." He had his eyes on a sports car, but it immediately blew up, and sent parts of the car flying everywhere.

Through the smog, April could see a familiar face riding a motorcycle.

"The bastard that Nick saved me from..." She muttered.

"What should we do?"

"We don't have time to deal with him right now. Nick's life is at stake."

"What if he follows us?"

"...Put a few bullets in him if you really want to."

"Understood."

Thankfully, he didn't stalk them (though he did throw a few flaming Molotovs at them). It made April wonder what the meaning of the encounter was. Was he planning on attacking her, but since Brad was there he decided otherwise? Since she didn't know the answer, she just shrugged it off and continued on.

They scoured the city, hoping to find a car, a van, anything that could get them to the school faster. But alas, they came up empty handed.

Brad grunted in frustration. "This is getting us nowhere. We should just sneak into there."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not walking from here to my school, it's at least 3 miles away! And time is of the essence here!"

"We have no choice we can't find a vehicle."

April was the first to notice the zombies closing in on them.

"Shit! Brad, come on, we'll talk in... That mart over there!" She pointed to a small supermarket with green stripes.

The two dashed towards it, and Brad sealed the door, putting anything heavy in front of it.

The creatures were moaning and hammering their fists on the windows. April and Brad couldn't do anything but watch.

"Now what?"

Brad started running around, checking for any back doors or other windows they could escape through.

"Damn it! I've found the back door, but it's locked." He immediately started searching for a key.

The cracks grew larger as the zombies pounded their fists, with a ravenous hunger.

"Come on, it must be somewhere..."

April knew that by the time Brad found the key, if there even was one, the zombies would have broken in, and they would be surrounded. She had to do something, but what?

She frantically looked around for something to use.

Suddenly, her eyes landed on something, and she smiled.

"Hey Brad," he turned around, "what if we use this to get to the school?"

Brad stared at what she was referring to, and frowned. "...You're kidding right?"

The walking corpses were still clawing, growling, begging, for the fresh meat inside the mart.

Suddenly, they were all thrown back, as something came crashing through and zoomed past them.

It was April and Brad, riding a supermarket trolley.

It rolled towards the hill.

"This has to be the stupidest idea I've ever- ARRRRGGGGGGHHHH!" Brad screamed as zoomed down and whizzed through the town.

The zombies didn't even have any time to react. They were brutally tossed aside or shot before they could get their hands on them.

While Brad was screaming and yelling, April was having a blast. She laughed and yelled as she mowed down more of the undead. They came across a few ramps, which April wildly enjoyed.

But things only got truly hectic when they got to the street near April's school.

Gang members, led by the leader who tried to kill April, were waiting for them, and threw fiery explosives at the two.

Brad gunned them down as best as he could, but he didn't trust the rushing trolley enough to let go of it completely.

The crazy ride came to an abrupt end, as the wheels hit a stone, causing the entire thing to be tipped over.

April and Brad laid there panting.

"...Can we do that again?" She asked.

"NO!" After a surprised look from April, Brad composed himself. "No, we have to save Nick first."

Their attention was drawn to the military outpost. They crouched behind some debris and studied the area.

In the midst of the apocalyptic wreck, a few tents had been set up. Some of the classroom were unscathed, and already had people inside, working on something.

"Nick's probably in one of those tents." Brad pointed.

"I still don't understand... What would they possibly want with him?"

"I don't know either." He looked at April. "Listen, I have to go restock. The only thing I've got right now is a handgun. Try and get inside, I'll be back to take care of these guys."

"How am I going to get in?"

"Well, no offence, but I don't think you'll be able to fight your way through them. But you're small, so I'm sure you can sneak in there without being detected." He answered. "But, it's all up to you now April."

"Okay..." She looked over at the Spec Ops. "But wait, what if..." When she turned around to finish her question, Brad had already gone. "...Okay. Okay April, you can do this..." She whispered to herself as she snuck round the back of the base.

 **End of Chapter 11**


	12. Chapter 12: The Rescue

Time until the military arrives: 88 hours, 56 minutes and 3 seconds.

Handfuls of Spec Ops were gathered in the middle of the base, talking to one another. The conversations weren't all that interesting, just talk about families, previous missions, and even the topic of video games was brought up.

April went behind the base and stared up at the chain fence. A zombie beside her touched it. Suddenly, the whole fence was coated in electricity, and the zombie fell down dead, burned black.

April took cover as some of the soldiers came over.

"False alarm guys." One of them called. "Just a stupid zombie."

This made the others laugh and they walked away from the fence.

April came out of her hiding place. "Now that I know the fence is electric, I'll need something to help me get over. But what?" She scanned around and soon laid her eyes on a dumpster (with its lid closed) and a couple of boxes.

"...This will do."

She pushed the dumpster beside the fence, and then balanced some of the boxes on top of each other.

The Spec Ops were still talking, so they didn't notice any of this.

April clambered up. The boxes wobbled slightly, but thankfully settled after a short second.

She was well above the fence now. Nothing was on the ground to cushion her fall, but nevertheless, she could still make the jump.

April leapt into the base, and rolled on the ground once she landed.

She was in, good, but now she had to find Nick.

The talking in the middle of the base was stopped, as a fierce figure marched out of one of the tents.

April hid behind some supply crates and watched as Fontana took her place at the front of the squad.

They saluted her. "Commander Fontana, sir!"

Suddenly, a hand clamped over April's mouth and another hand dragged her further behind the crates.

April screamed and struggled.

"Hello Cupcake." A familiar voice said. "I didn't think a dwarf like you would be able to get in here."

She looked up to see the smirking face of Axel.

She said something that sounded like: "Let me go, you bastard!"

"Oh, but if I let you go, then you'd just run out there and get yourself killed." His voice turned patronisingly sweet. "And we can't have Derek Freemore's pwecious daughter get a boo-boo, can we?"

"...I'm going to fucking kill you." She replied, through his muffling hands.

"My my, what a foul tongue, your mum must be proud of you." Axel released her mouth.

"Look, I'm in the middle of a rescue mission, I don't have time for you." April snapped.

"You actually thought I came here to fight you? While that would be entertaining, I have to decline. I'm on an important mission as well."

She snorted. "I find that hard to believe."

Axel checked behind the crates. "Plus, I'm doing you a favour. If you had stuck your head out for too long, you would have been shot."

"How do you know that?"

He pointed to a turret, surveying the crates and ready to shoot any intruders.

"Aw man, they've got turrets now!?"

"I'm afraid so."

They ducked behind the crates again.

"I won't be able to get to Nick with those in motion."

"Oh they've captured your Hispanic friend, have they?" He chuckled. "I'm quite surprised, I would've thought the bloke would be able to take them down, easy-peasy."

"I don't know what they want with him, but I've got to save him..."

For the first time in a long time, Axel took on a more serious tone.

Though he was sarcastic, and sometimes even a little rude most of the time, he knew when to be serious, and when to drop the snippy comments.

He looked at the turrets. "...Listen, April, I could disable the turrets, and distract the others while you look for Nick."

April couldn't believe what she was hearing, she stared at him in shock. "W-What...?"

Axel looked almost embarrassed to be showing her his soft side. "I-I'm not doing this for your benefit or anything! It's just part of my mission, I need to get into one of those tents too, you see."

The Spec Ops were still listening to Fontana giving the new recruits the debrief of the situation.

"...Alright. Give me a signal once you've disabled them. Then you distract them, and I'll start looking in the tents for Nick. Okay?"

Axel nodded.

"Alright, good luck." She gave him a small pat on the shoulder.

Axel dashed behind the tents, and used them as cover from the troop.

"...Ashton has been on my ass, all about this Freemore girl." Fontana paced back and forth. "I want you to find her and bring her back here. If she's still looking for 12, then she can't have gone far." She waved her hand, directing the group outwards. "Go and find her, and quickly, I don't like to wait for results, especially when Kilduff's on my case."

"Yes sir." The Spec Ops jogged out. "Alright team, search the city! We're looking for a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes, about 5'3". Let's move!"

April was quite freaked out, they knew a lot about her, but she brushed it off, they hadn't seen her yet, so she was safe for now.

Fontana turned to the others. "Alright, troops, I need you to guard this place while I join the search. If she comes through here, let me know, got it?"

"Yes, sir, Fontana, sir."

"Good." She cocked an assault rifle and then ran to join the others.

"...Phew, being around her is like standing next to a bull in a china shop." The soldier commented.

"Yeah, well, as long as we don't blow this place up, she won't chew us out." Replied his friend.

With swift agility and a cunning mind, Axel managed to disable both of the turrets stationed.

He gave April a thumbs up, and then got the attention of two of the Spec Ops near the tents.

"Good afternoon gentlemen!" Axel yelled.

They turned and looked at him.

"How goes the guarding, ay?"

"Shit, shit, and more shit." They answered, walking over to him. "How about you? You probably want to gloat as usual."

"Well actually now that you mention it..."

They groaned, but listened. Axel boasting about his work was the most exciting thing that had happened to them that day.

With them distracted, April started searching through the tents.

In the first tent was nothing interesting. Just a few supply crates and a bottle of whiskey. Rather than indulge in a nice sip of the beverage, she moved on to the next one. Besides, she was too young to drink.

The second tent was intriguing. There was another map of the entire town. But this one had circles around specific buildings, along with some labels. The church in the field was labeled: "Hideout?". The fact that they were catching on to the hiding place made her stomach turn. She hoped that they wouldn't check there in their search.

She hesitated when she reached the third tent, and put her ear to the fabric wall. There were faint sounds from the other side. Sighs? Whispers? Sobs? April couldn't tell, but it was defiantly something. Quietly, she entered the tent.

When she saw what was inside, she nearly bounded with joy.

It was Nick!

But he had his hands tied behind his back, and he was laying on the floor face down.

April dropped to her knees and started shaking him.

"Nick! Nick, wake up!"

Nick grunted a little, and he stirred awake.

"Nick... Nick, come on, I don't have much time!"

He opened his eyes, and looked at her. "...A-April...?" Now he was fully awake. "April!?" Nick sat up, a worried and confused look on his face.

April hugged him tightly. "God, I was so worried about you." She broke from him and cupped his face with her hands. "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?"

"I-I'm fine, seriously." Even with his assurance, she still checked him over. "What are doing here?"

"What do you mean? I'm here to rescue you, of course!" She helped him up. "Let me untie you."

"Wait." Said Nick. "If they see me unbound, they might start rooting the place out for you. And besides, I need my weapons if we're ever hoping to escape this place."

"I could make a weapon for you. What do you need?"

"A cement saw and a sledgehammer." He answered.

"Alright, I'll start looking around." A painful frown suddenly crossed her face. "...I don't understand, why did they kidnap you?"

Nick silently sighed and looked at her. "...You know what? It's time you knew the truth."

"You mean why they're after you and why you're referred to as 12?"

"Yeah. I should have told you before, but I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, and I thought it was just better to hide it and not accidentally get you involved. But, you're not 5, and I'm not your father, so you deserve to know the truth."

April nodded and waited for him to speak again.

"...I'm immune for a reason." He began. "I'm actually the c-"

Footsteps were approaching the tent.

Nick and April looked at eachother.

"Quickly! Get under that table!" Nick whispered.

"But Nick-"

"Get under there! Go!"

April crawled under the table and watched the two Spec Ops from earlier come into the tent.

"It's your lucky day, Number 12. We've been ordered by Kilduff to take you to the lab for... An operation."

"Lab?" April mouthed.

Nick backed away as they tried to grab hold of him. "Go fuck yourselves, I'm not going with you."

"Don't make this harder for yourself, 12, or you might just end up dead, like your little buddy, 49."

Enraged, Nick spat in his face. "Diego was more than just a number, you fucking bastards."

The Spec Ops soldier punched Nick hard in the face, knocking him unconscious. Once he was on the ground, the soldier started kicking his body with brute force.

April could do nothing but watch. She felt angry, no, infuriated, that it was futile to stop him. She just wanted to come out and fight them both. She wanted to shoot them and run out of the base, pulling Nick behind her. The more she watched Nick getting beat up, the more she felt a flaming rage build up inside of her.

Once he had a full kicking, he ordered his friend to take Nick, while he exited the tent to have a smoke. His friend carried Nick over his shoulder and went out.

Another man came bounding in, frantically looking around.

"April? April?" A familiar English voice called in a hushed whisper.

"Here." She crawled out from under the table.

Axel spun round and knelt by her side. "Are you alright?"

"No." She clenched her fists tightly. "Nick told me to hide under here, and then they beat him up. They fucking kicked his unconscious body! And I didn't try to stop them...!"

"There's no need to get yourself so worked up, my dear." He replied. "They were highly trained soldiers, they would have brushed you off like a fly."

"BUT I SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THEM!" She screamed. "I JUST LET THEM BEAT HIM UP AND TAKE HIM AWAY. HE'S MY BEST FRIEND, AND I-"

"YOU COULDN'T DO ANYTHING." He yelled back. Once she was calmer, he took a more mellow tone. "April listen to me, as much as you'd like to believe, you wouldn't have been able to stop them."

She stayed silent.

"This isn't one of your video games, there's no level up system or ability to restart from the beginning. Sometimes you just have to accept that some mountains are just too high to overcome."

"...So what do I do then? Just leave him to his fate?"

Axel shook his heavy head. "Have you ever heard the phrase "Live and learn"?"

"A couple of times. Why?"

"Think of what just happened. You let those soldiers beat Nick up. While I don't consider that a mistake, you do. So, what do you do after you've made a mistake?"

"...Adapt from it."

"Yes, exactly."

"...Well, one of the soldiers said he had to go have a smoke, and since the turrets are disabled I could take him out easily."

"Yes, go on."

"And the other guy carrying Nick... He probably went into one of the classrooms. His buddy mentioned a lab, so that could mean one of the science classrooms is still standing." She stood back up. "Alright, I'm going to kill the other guy, then I'll infiltrate the lab and rescue Nick!"

Axel got onto his feet and clapped. "My my, you have a voice. Have you ever considered acting?"

April got on her tip-toes and attempted to align herself with Axel's forehead. But she only got up to his nose.

"Don't patronise me." She said sternly.

Axel couldn't contain his laughter. "You know, you're adorable when you're angry."

She let out a growl, before marching out of the tent. "Come on. I won't wait for you."

He sniggered and followed her.

The Spec Ops solider was just outside the ruined school, puffing a smoke in his hands. He was mumbling to himself, but Axel and April were too far away to understand it.

"Now what do we do?"

Axel looked around. His eyes locked onto a glass shard. Its rigid edge looked sharp enough to pierce skin, or even rip through it.

He picked it up, careful not to cut himself, and gave it to April.

Immediately, April started getting flashbacks to those shards stuck in her shoulder. It shook in her hands.

"Oh my, are you alright?" Axel asked worriedly.

"Y-Yeah." She replied. "I just remembered some stuff."

He looked at the smoking guard. "The chap must be pretty relaxed by now. I'll start a conversation with him. While we're talking, you sneak up behind him and..." He dragged his thumb across his neck.

She nodded. "Quick and painless. Well, as long as you do it right."

"I'll give you another signal when we're talking. For now, just wait here, and try to keep quiet." He stood up and walked over to the guard.

The solider kept puffing peacefully.

"AY! HOW'S IT GOING?" Axel jumped into his view.

The guard jumped and dropped his cigarette. "What the fuck!? Don't do shit like that when I'm on break, you bastard!"

"Oops sorry, did I scare you?"

"What the fuck does it look like, limey?"

As he bent down to pick it up, a peeved Axel mouthed: "Can you make it so that he's barely alive when you cut him?" at April.

She shrugged.

"Try." Axel said silently.

He stood back up. "So what do you want? If you're here to gloat, fuck off."

Axel tried very hard to conceal his anger. "Well... I thought I would just... Let you know that..." His eyes darted towards April. "...I think I know where the girl you're looking for is."

This made the soldier intrigued. "Oh really? Where?"

"Umm... Well..." He looked at April again.

"...The hell are you..." He began to turn around.

Axel grabbed him. "No no! She's defiantly not in the base. Haha, she wouldn't even be able to get in, what with all the electric fences and guards posted at the gate." He quickly nodded at April before turning his full attention to the guard.

"That's true... So where do you think she is?"

She crept behind them, shard in hand.

"Well, let's just say..."

The shard carefully glided around his neck, ready to slice it open.

"She's at a turn to the east."

"What the fuck are you-"

April slit his neck open before he could say anymore.

He fell to the ground, choking and holding the wound. There was no saving him.

Axel got out his gun. "Oh I'm sorry. What I actually meant was 6 o'clock. Sharp." He shot the man in the head.

They stared at the dead body for a moment.

"Now you see what happens when you call me limey, you bastard." Axel spat.

"One down, one to go."

"We should probably split up. I'll take care of the guy, while you get Nick."

"I'm cool with that. He'd probably be confused, and maybe a little angry, if he saw you with me."

"Angry?" But then a disappointed look crossed his face. "Oh let me guess. He's very protective of you, and if anyone hurts a hair on your head, he literally goes ballistic and tries to murder the guy?"

"Pretty much. He's a good person though. We've been friends since the outbreak started."

"I just hope he doesn't smother you. Having people like him around can sometimes be annoying."

"Nick? Annoying? Nah, he's alright. Anyway, we should get going. I don't even want to think about what will happen if we're too late."

They dashed back to what was left of the building and to their surprise, they found two of the school labs still intact, and still buzzing with researchers and Spec Ops alike.

April saw a big table laid out, with four small cuffs stuck to it. It didn't take a genius to figure out who they were using it for. She felt nauseated. What the hell were they planning to do with him?

Even Axel looked a little sick. "This certainly is... Interesting. Are you sure your friend isn't some sort of superhuman? Or maybe he has something inside him that they want?"

She shook her head. "I don't know..."

"I'll go find that other guard. You find Nick and try to get him out of here before... They do experiments on him... Or something." Still looking confused, Axel turned and ran off.

April walked further up the hallway. It was a disaster zone. The whole wall to her left had been blown clean off, while the right was almost completely intact with small cracks and bricks missing here and there.

She suddenly spotted a door. It had a piece of paper stuck to it that read: "NUMBER 12".

A small slot was at the bottom of the door. It wasn't tiny, but it certainly wasn't big enough to put her whole foot through it.

She knelt down and peered through.

It was her classroom, where Goldy had tripped her up and where she was taking notes on zombification. But the desks and chairs were gone. There was only the whiteboard and the small library in the corner.

Nick was in there, staring out the window.

"Nick!" She whispered.

After realising he was too far away, she raised her voice.

"Nick!"

He spun around.

"Hello?"

"Nick! Down here!"

He locked his eyes on the door. "April? Is that you?" He dashed over.

Nick knelt down and looked through. All April could see was his brown eyes.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god it's you."

"Hey, I wouldn't abandon my friend."

Even though she couldn't see it, she knew he was smiling.

"Did you get them?"

"Them? ...Oh yeah! Shit, I totally forgot! Sorry, I got too caught up in trying to locate you."

"There's probably a cement saw lying around here somewhere. Dunno about a sledgehammer though..."

"I'll go find them. Then you'll explain all this to me, right?"

"Right."

"Alright. Stay there, I'll be back."

"I haven't got much choice. I mean, I'm pretty much trapped here."

"I'll get you out, don't worry."

"Okay, just try and be quick. They might come back." He let out a groan.

"Are you okay? They did beat you up pretty badly earlier."

"Oh trust me, I've had worse. Annie's ex tried to kill me with a goddamn crane."

"A crane? Really?"

"Yeah. But that's something for another time. Go find those parts, then bring them back here. I'll show you how to make it."

April set off, and Nick went back to his loitering.

He looked at the small library and shrugged. "Might as well entertain myself..." He muttered.

The first place that came to April's mind was the workshop. She went in and started searching around. It was thankfully still in good shape, though many of the tools had fallen to the floor due to the explosion.

"Cement saw... Cement saw..." She fished through the pile of tools on the ground. "...Ow!" She withdrew her hand and sucked on her bleeding finger. Carefully pushing away the hammers and saws, she found the cement saw. It was stained with a little bit of her blood.

"Got it!" She picked it up and shoved it into her pockets. "Now, the sledgehammer..."

There wasn't one to be found in the workshop, April even checked every nook and cranny just to be sure.

"If I were working with these guys, where would I put a sledgehammer?" She asked herself as she examined a box of tools.

Footsteps echoed from the corridor, and a few familiar voices were getting closer.

April sprinted to one of the cupboards and hid inside it, leaving it open a crack.

An auburn haired woman and a Spec Ops solider came marching into the workshop.

"Fontana..."

"I swear I saw the little brat in here." The soldier said.

Fontana studied her surroundings. "Well I'm not seeing any evidence that she was here." She placed a sledgehammer on the table.

April looked disappointed. "Oh that's the most convenient thing I've seen all day..." She mumbled.

Fontana sharply turned in her direction, which made April shut her mouth.

"Something wrong, sir?"

"...Just thought I heard something..." She hesitated, but soon turned back to the soldier. "If you really think she's got into here, then make yourself useful. Patrol the corridors. And if you see her, bring her straight to me. DO NOT kill her." With that said, Fontana left the room, with the soldier following behind.

After they had gone, April crawled out of the cupboard and breathed. "Jesus, how does she keep scaring me like that?" She focused on the sledgehammer. "Well, at least I've got all I need now." She took it and started heading out. "Wait, that guard might be patrolling the corridors."

She peeked outside and saw him walking up and down, holding a torch.

"As long as I keep out of sight, I should be fine, hopefully."

She waited until he had gone all the way up the corridor, and then she ran in the opposite direction. She tried to muffle her footsteps as best as she could, but some of them reached the guard's ears.

"What the-" He spun round and flashed his torch. "...Must be hearing things..." With one last look, he continued his patrol.

April picked up the speed. She turned into the corridor where Nick was and stopped in front of the door.

"Nick! Nick, I've got everything!"

No answer.

She got onto the floor and peeked through the slot.

Nick was no where to be seen.

"Nick?" She called again, hoping he was further in the room.

No reply.

"Shit, they must have taken him..." She stood back up. "But there's still hope! I just have to get there before they can do anything to him." With that said, she ran off down the hall.

A figure was watching her from the darkness. He produced a transceiver from his pocket.

"Fontana, sir, I've located the girl."

She made it to the lab and looked through the window.

Scientists were scurrying around. Some were pressing buttons or carrying jars of Queens. They all looked deeply concentrated on their work, and somewhat eager. Soldiers were also present, but they stood in the background, with their assault rifles cocked and ready.

Nick was bound to the table. He struggled and thrashed around, but he couldn't escape.

"12 is ready, let us begin the extraction."

Nick recoiled in terror. "Extraction? What do you mean!?"

April watched as he continued to try and free himself.

"I've got to do something. Otherwise they'll do... Whatever they want to him!" She tried to think. "...wait." She looked down at the cement saw and sledgehammer. Slowly, she took out her duct tape. "I can create Nick's weapon. Then I'll burst in there, take out the guards, and rescue him." It was only thing she could think of. Anymore pondering, and Nick would've been "extracted". She laid the weapons on the ground and set to work.

"I think I've got this right..." She put the saw at the end of the sledgehammer, and then wrapped the tape around them, combining them together. She worked fast, while casting a few glances at the lab.

Once she was done, she lifted it off the ground in triumph.

"Hell yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" She marched up to the door. "I'm coming, Nick."

"Make sure you pin him down, I hear he's quite strong."

The lab coated scientists each took one of Nick's limbs, and held them firmly.

"Guys I'm cuffed, it's not like I can run off anywhere..." Nick rolled his eyes at them.

One of them grabbed a syringe and held it up.

The moment Nick saw it, more memories of Los Perdidos came flooding back.

"I'm a businessman. And you're my next export... Sunshine."

Nick let out a scream and furiously struggled.

"NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

But it was no use, they had a strong hold on him.

"Keep calm, it will only hurt for a second." She approached him. "We just want some of your blood. Then you can go."

"NO!" He yelled. "Oh god...!"

April couldn't stand it anymore. She let out a battle cry and charged in.

The door burst down, and everyone stopped.

April stood there, with the Sledgesaw in her arms.

"Get the hell away from my friend!" She barked.

"It's the girl! It's the girl!" The Spec Ops cried. "Capture her! Quick!"

April ran at them with the weapon, while everyone else piled out of the room, leaving April, the Spec Ops, and Nick behind.

She started tearing them to pieces with the Sledgesaw. Her Dad had told her that while the unit was perfected in the use of firearms, they lacked experience in melee, and were therefore easy targets for backstabbers and brawlers.

She couldn't take them all on at once, resulting in her shooting some of them in the head.

With the last soldier she swung her weapon like a bat, and hit him like a baseball out the window.

April dropped her weapon and ran over to Nick.

She tore the cuffs from his hands and legs.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah... I'm just glad you got here before they could do anything to me."

"Come on, let's get out of here."

But before they could leave, out of nowhere, a whole squad of Spec Ops smashed through the windows, aiming their rifles right at them.

"What the hell!? Where did these guys come from?"

Shortly after, Fontana walked in, staring at them both with a sense of intrigue.

"...So, I finally get to meet the snotty brat who's been causing all this trouble." She looked April up and down. "Come along, we have much to discuss." Before April could give an answer, Fontana grabbed her and pulled her towards the door. "Get that blood out of 12, pronto."

"Yes sir."

April dug her heels into the floor. "No! Let me go! Nick!"

"Stupid girl..." Fontana picked up April and carried her over her shoulder.

Nick fought against the soldiers. "HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE! SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

"Oh trust me, she has plenty to do with this." Fontana replied coldly.

"Get your hands off of me!" Nick pushed them out the way. "April, I'm coming, don't worry! We'll get out! I promise!"

April hung over Fontana's back, and simply watched as Nick got further and further away, as she was carried to a dark place.

 **End of Chapter 12**


	13. Chapter 13: Cold Truths

Her pistols fell out of her pockets and on to the floor.

"Dammit!" April yelled. "Put me down!"

"Shut up." Fontana replied.

She was far too strong for April to break free.

So instead of struggling, she decided to do something that her father taught her.

April pin pointed the unprotected part of her skull, and then elbowed it as hard as she could.

Fontana let out a shout and fell to the ground, dropping April in the process.

She wasn't unconscious, unfortunately, just extremely dizzy.

"What the FUCK did you do?" She barked.

April didn't answer her. She got up and ran back in Nick's direction.

But a nasty surprise was waiting for her. Two soldiers ran out of the darkness and grabbed her by the arms.

"Let me go!" She struggled and fought, but it was no use.

"Mr Ashton, we have the girl."

April glared up at him.

"...Yes, we'll bring her immediately." He put his transceiver away. "Come along, Ashton wants to see you."

"What for?"

He shrugged. "You'll see when we get there." He nodded at his friend, and she was released.

April looked behind her, hoping that Nick was okay, but the soldier blocked her view, and stared down at her.

"Any ideas about running away, and we'll bring your body to him instead."

They walked her through the corridors and out into the open. April searched around for Axel, but he was nowhere to be seen. She hoped he hadn't been caught or, worse, killed.

They kept walking until they reached a tent. The soldier held the flap open for her, and then waited outside with his friend once she had gone in.

Augustus was typing away at a laptop, with two ZDC agents stationed.

One of them tapped his shoulder. "Ahem, Mr Ashton, she's here."

He yawned. "Fontana...?"

"No, the girl. Derek's kid."

Upon hearing this, he stopped typing and looked up.

"Ah, April, what a pleasant surprise." He gestured to a chair in the middle. "Sit, sit, we have much to discuss."

April narrowed her eyes at him, but decided to play along, for now, and sat down. It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway.

Augustus poured some tea into a fancy looking cup.

"Tea?" He offered. "Surely you must be thirsty after fighting your way to your friend."

"No." Truthfully, she was parched. But she didn't trust him enough to take any drinks or food from him. For all she knew, he would poison it.

He sat back down at his laptop, cup and saucer in hand.

"...I hope you realise how much of a stir you're causing, young lady."

She stared at him. "What do you mean?"

He looked at her, quite surprised. "You haven't heard? My dear girl, your father has been rabbiting on about you so much that it's almost driven everyone mad. Kilduff can't seem to get you off his mind either." He took a sip. "You seem to be just as infectious as the zombie virus itself."

She felt a little sick upon hearing this. Why was she, of all people, the subject of conversation lately?

"What, am I some "Chosen One" or something?"

He gave a hearty chuckle. "Not quite. But not far from it."

She watched him in silence. April had unfortunately inherited some of her father's headstrong attitude. It would work with a more taller person. With April, well, it was like a dwarf trying to intimidate you. The poor girl would need a footstool to be at least a little threatening.

He delicately dunked a biscuit into his tea. "No, my girl, not a Chosen One. But rather, a productive member of society."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Me, a productive member of society, seriously?"

"Yes. Your grades in science and maths are incredible, and at such a young age. Though English could use some work."

She stared at him in horror. "...you read my cringy stories?"

"Oh yes." An devilish grin crossed his face. "Especially the one with the demon hunter and the lady, where they-"

"OKAY ENOUGH ENOUGH!" April's face was red as a beetroot. She felt mortified knowing that someone ACTUALLY read that embarrassing piece of writing. "What do you want?"

"I want to make you an offer. Well, actually, your mother wants to make you an offer."

April's eyes grew wide. "My mother...?" But then her expression turned into a glare. "Bullshit. My mother ran off at the start of the outbreak."

"You think she abandoned you as well?" He rolled his eyes and smiled. "Like father, like daughter. No, my girl, your mother simply stepped out for a moment for an important errand."

"What kind of errand?"

"It's confidential." He replied. "Anyway, your mother has told us of your talents. She thinks you would be a useful addition to our company, Phenotrans."

She stared at him, open mouthed, and then laughed. "...You're a liar!" She scoffed. "My mother would never want me to work for them!" She was about to stand up, but the two agents in the back aimed their rifles at her.

"Tsk tsk, you should know better than to get angsty with a force like mine." He shook his head and looked at them with a smug smile. "Teenagers, am I right?"

They didn't respond.

With a look of disappointment, he turned back to April. "Your mother hasn't told you about her job, has she?"

"She doesn't have a job."

"Oh but she does. She was going to tell you when you turned 18. But then she discovered you met that... Thing."

"...Are you talking about Nick?" She was ready to hit him, but the agents cocked their rifles again and she withdrew her fist.

"Ever since you met him, she's been very concerned. So she advised me to tell you what she works as, to change your mind and bring you away from that experiment and his ilk."

"Call him a "thing" or "experiment" one more fucking time and I swear, old man, I'll-"

"I know an experiment when I see one. Your mother does too, she's conducted them herself, especially during Fortune City."

April looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I remember them quite well. Those King Zombies were always her favourite, so many Queens."

She stared blankly at him. Then the truth sank in, and her face twisted into shock and horror.

She shook her head. "No... That can't be true..."

"It is all the truth. Your mother is a agent of Phenotrans. Surely as her daughter, you would follow her footsteps, would you not?"

"No!" She stood up, and pointed at him. "I KNOW what you're doing. You're just trying to get me to work for Phenotrans so that Kilduff will get off your back! There's probably some cash in for it too..." She stared at him with utter hatred in her eyes.

"I can assure you my dear, there's no money reward involved, though I do wish Kilduff would stop nagging me..."

She didn't believe him for a second. "Forget it. I'm not working for that disgusting company, even if my mother is there." She spat on the floor just inches away from his foot.

Augustus looked down at it, then back up at her. He was expressionless.

"...okay." He put down his saucer and cup. "Why don't you sit back down?" His tone of voice had changed. It sounded dark, and somewhat aggressive.

She shook her head.

Augustus sat there impatiently. "Sit. Down." He said slowly.

With the agents cocking the guns again, she reluctantly sat back down.

"I don't think you realise who you're messing with." He began. "I am not someone you want to aggravate. Making me your enemy can cost you your life."

"You don't scare me." She boldly replied. She was getting too cocky for her own good. "Once I get out of here, I'm exposing this whole thing. I'm taking this straight to the news and you're all going behind bars."

Now she had crossed the line, but she was too wrapped up in the idea of justice being served to realise.

He simply stared at her. After a moment of silence, he beckoned both the agents over and whispered something to them. One of them went to the far corner of the room, while the other walked towards April.

"I thought you would understand. But it seems that you're just another Frank West. Another pest we must take care of."

Her cockiness quickly disappeared and was replaced with fear.

"What?"

The agent went behind her, and held her in place.

"W-Wait, what are you doing?"

He sniggered as she became more and more frightened.

"What the hell are you planning to do to me!?" She struggled.

"I thought you might like to see a little friend of mine."

The agent brought over a white container.

April could hear something violently wriggling and hissing inside of it.

"Open it." He said.

The lid was lifted off, and April gasped in horror.

What was inside was not something of this world. It was a large worm, desperately thrashing around and trying to get out of its prison. It was black and white with stripes, and had razor sharp teeth. It blindly wiggled around, furiously searching for a host.

The zombies at night were scary. But this worm alone made April terrified. She was actually shaking. Her heart rate escalated as she kept staring at it.

"What... WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?"

"There are two parasites that carry the zombie virus. Queens, and my little friend here." He snickered. "Isn't he cute?"

She couldn't even speak anymore. The more she stared at this thing, the more disturbed and horrified she felt. How could this thing exist? It looked like something out of one of her video games.

Augustus looked at his watch. "Oh my, I must going. Well, it has been nice to know you Miss Freemore, but now I must bid you adieu." He started to walk out. "You two know what to do." With one last look, he left.

The agent took the writhing worm out of its container and held it up to her.

She suddenly realised what they were going to do with it.

He started strangling her, trying to force her to open her mouth. But she kept it firmly shut, and continued to struggle.

"Open your mouth." He shoved the worm into her face. "Open your GODDAMN MOUTH."

She could feel it wriggling on her cheek, gnashing and hissing. The sound was horrible and ear piercing.

The other agent was about to block her nose when a commotion was heard outside. Not long after, April heard the sound of fabric being ripped.

"LET HER GO NOW!"

What transpired after was chaos. Everything happened all at once. She was released and both the agents rushed behind her to battle whoever interrupted them. The one with the parasite was launched across the room, while April saw the head of the other rolling across the floor. Next thing she knew, the one with the parasite was also dead. His head had been smashed in. The worm let out a blood curdling scream as it jumped up towards April. But, before it could even reach her, a foot stomped on it, squashing it.

She looked up to see Nick standing over the mess, panting.

"Holy shit..." He muttered after a breath.

April fell to her knees and stared at the ground.

"Woah woah woah, are you okay?" He knelt down and shook her.

No reply.

"April, talk to me."

"...I'm fine." She answered flatly. "Trust me, I'm okay." Her face was hidden. She was still shaking.

"Look, if you need a hug, I'm here..."

"I know."

After a moment, Nick took her hand. "...Come on." He helped her stand up.

She breathed a sigh. "Augustus told me that my mom is a Phenotrans Agent."

"What?" Nick pulled a worried look. "Are you sure he was telling the truth?"

"I don't know. He didn't look like he was lying, but I could never imagine my mom working for... Them."

"April... I'm so sorry..."

After a moment of silence, he spoke again.

"Hey, listen, I don't know what the hell's going on, but we're getting to the bottom of it. You and me have questions, and we're getting the goddamn answers."

"Hell yeah we are. I'm tired of hints and riddles, I want the truth for fuck sake." She replied.

"But... Say he was telling the truth, what then? Would you still want to look for her?"

After a long pause she finally responded. "...I don't know. I mean, she's my mom and I love her, but... I don't know if I would be able to side with her... If she's with those monsters."

"I know I wouldn't." Nick replied.

April frowned at the floor. "...Can we go? This place is giving me bad vibes, and I just want to forget what Augustus said about my mom."

He nodded. "Okay."

They walked out of the tent together.

"...Nice job on the weapon by the way."

"Huh?"

He held up the Sledgesaw. "You used a little too much duct tape, and the positioning of the cement saw was slightly off. But other than that, you did a pretty neat job."

"I was in a hurry. I mean, they were going to do weird shit to you if I didn't burst in there, you know?"

"Yeah... Tons of weird shit."

They went silent and kept walking. Out of the corner of his eye, Nick noticed her frowning rather painfully. He looked down at her, with a grim look on his face.

"I'm really sorry for getting you involved. I should just leave before they do anything else to you."

"No." April replied firmly. "I need you, Nick. All the survivors need you."

"Phenotrans will see you as my accomplice. The fact that they tried to turn you means that they already see you as a threat."

"...Well, it's not like we can just walk up to them like kindergarten students and apologise. We can only go deeper from here."

"Hold it right there." A shrill voice called.

April and Nick turned around, only to see Goldy and Ben waiting for them. They seemed to be in an awkward embrace.

"What are you two doing here?" April asked bluntly.

"Could ask you the same."

There was a small pause.

"Anyway, me and Ben are going out now." Goldy stiffly mused.

There was a moment of silence.

She loudly cleared her throat. "Me and Ben are GOING OUT now."

"...So...?" April made a twirling motion with her fingers.

Goldy was astonished, but quickly replaced the expression with a nervous laugh. "Aren't you, like, jealous or something? ...Like, Ben's mine now."

"No."

"What!?"

"If you two are dating, then good for you. I don't give a shit to be honest."

Goldy brought Ben closer. "Well maybe this will change your mind." She kissed him forcefully.

April and Nick were just standing there, watching this awkward display. They cast a few glances to eachother.

Once Goldy and Ben finished, they looked back at them. Goldy became mad after seeing it had no effect, and kissed him again, this time it was deeper. After a long time, they parted again and Goldy looked up in triumph.

"Don't you get it yet? You could've had m-" She stopped mid sentence and stared at the sight before her.

April and Nick were both wearing Servbot helmets.

"U-Uhhh...?" Goldy gazed in awe.

"What?" April asked.

Goldy was baffled. Was this just a crazy illusion she was having?

She shook it off and kissed Ben for the third and longest time.

When she parted from him again she looked back up.

"April you-"

April and Nick were sitting in deckchairs. They were still wearing the silly helmets.

"What the fuck!?"

"We got bored." April answered.

"Do you take nothing seriously!? We're in a romantic relationship!"

"Yeah yeah." April yawned. "Whatever."

"Ugh, I can't believe you!" Goldy suddenly lunged at April and grabbed her. "Why don't you care!?" She cried.

"Because I fucking hate you." April ripped off the helmet and stared at her with burning hatred. "You can do whatever you want, but I'll never have a shit to give."

Goldy gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face. "Damn you! You're just so hard to impress!" She started shaking her violently. "Why can't you-"

Nick tore his helmet off and viciously shoved Goldy away.

It knocked her to the ground. Nick didn't normally use this kind of force against someone younger than him. But this was Goldy, a hot headed brat. Nick didn't feel like he needed an excuse to stop her in her tracks.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Nick spat.

Goldy stared up at both of them. Suddenly, her eyes grew wide in horror.

"I don't care who you are. Come near both of us again, and we'll make you regret it."

Goldy looked at them, dumbfounded. Then her face twisted as more tears leaked out. She shakily got onto her feet. Quiet gasps came from her mouth as she tried to stop herself from sobbing.

April couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "Goldy-"

"Shut up..." She whimpered. "I don't care anymore."

Growing tired, Ben sighed and walked off.

After casting a glare at him, April frowned at Goldy.

"...Just answer one thing for me. Why are you mean to me one second, but then in a heap of tears the next? It isn't just in the outbreak, I've seen you do it at school too."

"What does it matter?" She sniffled.

"Maybe not much. But it's a good idea to get it off your chest."

Goldy didn't reply.

"Come on, what's eating at you? I can tell it's something that you haven't even told your parents about. I promise I won't-"

"I fucking love you, OKAY!?" She screamed.

April flinched a little. "...wha-"

"Look, ever since we did that photo shoot, I haven't been able to get you out of my head. I mean, you're beautiful, you're smart, you've got parents that care about you, you're perfect. I started to develop feelings for you, and I couldn't stop them... So, I asked my parents their thoughts, only to get an answer about how it was wrong and disgusting. My father shunned me for it, all because I had a crush on a poorer person. So, I tried to make myself hate you. I thought that if I loathed you, I wouldn't love you anymore and my family would be nice to me again. But the feelings kept getting stronger. No matter how many times I mocked you, tripped you over, hurt you, humiliated you, I still loved you! It... It drove me insane. I just wanted to scream..." Tears kept rolling down her face.

April just stared at her.

She wiped her eyes, furious with herself that she was actually crying.

"...Jesus, Goldy, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologise. I'm the one who put my expectations too high. I mean, who would want a bully? I thought I'd be rid of these feelings ages ago. But here I am opening my heart, to you no less..."

Goldy stared down at the ground again, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

Nick turned to April. "Is she real about this?"

"She doesn't seem to be lying." She looked back at Goldy again. "...I don't know about you, Nick, but to me that looks like a broken person."

He nodded in agreement, and April walked over to her.

"...Goldy?" She tapped her shoulder.

Goldy buried her face in her hands. "Just go away..."

April knelt down closer to her. "Goldy, do you want to come back with me and Nick?"

Goldy jerked her head up. "...huh?"

"Do you want to come back with me and Nick?"

"...but, like, where? No where's safe except here."

She smiled. "Not true. Me and Nick have been escorting survivors to the church on the hill. There's no zombies around, and the scenery's much nicer."

She hugged her legs. "I don't know... My Dad would be furious if I went with you."

"He doesn't matter for now. If you come with us, I promise you'll be away from him."

Goldy looked at April longingly. "D-Does this mean... We're okay?"

"...Well, I wouldn't say that just yet. But you can consider me an acquaintance."

She gasped and almost seemed to bound with joy, but stopped herself and instead showed off the sweetest and most genuine smile April had ever seen on her.

"Thank you so much."

April helped her to her feet, and they started walking off.

"Wow. Did you two, like, make that yourselves?" Goldy asked, pointing to the Sledgesaw.

"Nick's idea, but I crafted it."

"Oh! Hey, before I forget..." Nick dug out some pistols from his pocket. "I found them on the floor while I was running to where they'd taken you."

"Thanks Nick." She took them from him.

Suddenly Goldy let out a scream.

"April, no!"

"Goldy, what's-"

A gunshot went off.

April had her eyes closed. She could hear the sound of birds flying into the sky. Slowly, she opened her eyes again.

Augustus was in front of her with a shotgun. He stared blankly. April thought he was staring at her at first, but his eyes seemed to be glued to her torso. April looked down. A squeak came from her mouth as she clasped her hand over it.

Goldy was clinging onto her.

She fell on her stomach to reveal a gushing, red hole in her back.

April felt a lump in her throat. "G... Gold..." She fell to her knees, speechless. "G... Gold... Gold... y..."

Augustus just kept staring.

"Why the hell did you shoot her!? She was your daughter!" Nick yelled.

"I wasn't aiming for her. She got in the way." He answered.

"She was trying to save who she loved!"

"Well, that's her fault not mine. Love has a way of making you do crazy things, does it not? You killed a man just to win the love of a drugged up Illegal."

Nick was visibly disgusted. "You son of a-"

A van came crashing into the base, along with a jeep. The doors of the van opened, and some armed survivors came charging out of it.

Brad Park came out of the jeep, now fully equipped to fight off Augustus's unit.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Augustus bellowed.

The tip of a gun was pointed at his head.

"About high time you got a taste of your own medicine, ay?" The owner of the gun was none other than Axel.

"What are you doing!? You're meant to be on my side, you lunatic!"

"Yeah, well I found something very interesting about you. Something about you lying to me about the incident with my wife. Either way, we're through mate, I'm not working with liars."

"Now you listen here! I am your employer! You work for me, I own you!"

Axel leaned in, and tilted his sunglasses down so that his eyes were visible. "Not anymore. I go my own way now."

"Why... Why you..."

Spec Ops came from behind him.

"Kill them! Kill them all!" Augustus screamed in bloodlust fury.

A massive brawl of guns and fists began. A lot of people were using rifles or pistols, but there were a select few who decided to use their body as a weapon.

Axel got a fist to the face. As he stumbled, the soldier advanced on him, gun in hand. Axel quickly elbowed him in the stomach. While he was staggering, he shot him in the head. Two more ran towards him, and he shot them. The soldiers surrounded him, forcing Axel to dual wield. He charged one of them, shooting him in the head, and stood over his body as he shot the others.

The van parked near Nick and April, with its doors facing them.

"Nick, go! I'll handle this." April said.

"What? No, I'm not leaving you!" The doors opened as he said this.

"I came here to rescue you and intend to do just that. Go!" She yelled.

"No!"

"Just. Go!" She kicked him in the stomach.

Nick wasn't prepared for it, so he went flying. He landed with a loud "THUD" inside the van.

He looked up to see April holding the doors. "No! No, Ap-" She slammed them shut before he could say anymore.

The vehicle started moving towards the exit.

Nick banged the doors furiously, but found that they were locked. He could hear the chaos outside, and he could only pray that April would be okay.

 **End of Chapter 13**


	14. Chapter 14: The Fire Never Dies

He punched the doors in anger.

"Fuck!"

Nick pressed his back against the doors and slid down onto the floor. He knew that she would be okay, but he couldn't help worrying.

"You alright back there, champ?" Penelope asked.

He stood back up. "Penelope? How did you guys know we were here?"

"A guy called Brad Park came by and told us everything." She answered. "So why are you punching the place out back there?"

"Just... April. She got me out of there, but I don't feel comfortable leaving her to fight on her own, you know?"

"I wouldn't worry, she's a tough kid."

"Yeah you're right, but can she hold her own against a squad of Spec Ops?"

"Well, she's not alone, so I think she'll be okay."

Penelope did a sharp turn to the left.

Nick looked out the window. "...Wait where are we going? This isn't the way to the church."

"About that..."

Nick turned to her. "What?"

With a sigh, she answered. "They found us. We got liberated."

"Is everyone okay?"

"They managed to kill a good chunk of the survivors. Only me, Denitra, her husband, Hide, Lyris, and a few others escaped."

"Shit..."

"They broke in right after Brad explained the situation. He fled with us to that office building you and April are hiding out in. After that, we armed ourselves, got some cars, and drove straight to that camp."

"I'm sorry that we weren't there..." He suddenly realised the dark truth of it all. "...that's why they captured me..."

"Huh?"

"When we got outside the town hall, we got flash banged and I got captured. They didn't just kidnap me to drain my blood, they also did it so that April would come after me. With me and April gone no one would be able to defend the church, except a handful of untrained survivors." He explained. "They saw our friendship and exploited it! I can't..."

Nick held his head in his hands, and breathed a sigh.

"Phenotrans will do anything to ensure the truth is covered up." Said Penelope. "You're lucky they didn't try to kill her."

"They did. They tried to turn her into a zombie."

"...You're serious?"

"Yes. When I rushed into the tent, they were holding a worm to her face, the same kind of worm that forced its way out of Diego."

"Well, shit, was she okay?"

"She was pretty shaken up after the whole ordeal, but I calmed her down."

"Jesus, how did she get booted up to a high profile target already?"

"It's because she's with me..." Nick frowned.

"Then maybe just don't be friends with her anymore?"

Nick scoffed. "Oh, like it's just that easy. She's one of my only friends. Do you know how lonely it gets when you've got to keep running?" He folded his arms. "Besides, they'd still go after her, friend or not. She knows too much about them."

"That's true. Look, I'm sorry, I just don't really deal with that whole friendship stuff. It's a trait me and my brother shared."

"Except Dylan didn't know when no was no." Nick grimaced as he thought back to that awkward encounter with the lusty maniac.

"Yeah... He was kind of forceful like that." Penelope adjusted the mirror so that she could see him. "...but you found him hot didn't you?"

Nick stared at her. "...excuse me?"

She raised a playful eyebrow. "You know there's no shame in admitting that you found him attractive, right? I mean, my brother was quite a catch."

"I'm into girls. I have a GIRLfriend."

Penelope just giggled.

"Dylan and Nick sitting in a tree..." She teased.

"Oh shut up. For your information, I found him more creepy than attractive. There was no love between us. At all."

"Did he invite you personally to his little hideaway?"

"Well no, I got told where he was holed up, but he invited me in when I approached the door."

"Ooh, he must've liked you. He only invited people he really really liked into his den. Must've had big plans for you..."

Nick cringed and Penelope started laughing.

"Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal. My brother just had a thing for you, that's all."

"I don't even want to think about what he wanted to do to me."

"Well he'd defiantly want to string you up-"

"OKAY, forget I asked." He demanded, visibly cringing and pulling all sorts of faces.

The sight made Penelope laugh all the more, but she stopped teasing him.

The van pulled up at Sains. Co. Penelope opened the back of the van and let Nick out.

After he climbed out, Penelope lead him into the building.

"So I'm guessing you've explored this place quite a bit." Nick walked behind her.

"Yep. I put everyone in the wards if you're wondering."

He nodded. "Did you see the lab?"

"Yeah. I managed to discover something else too."

"Oh? What's that?"

"Sains. Co was an undercover Phenotrans branch placed in Lydonhole to watch over the place, and to make sure no one left or no outsiders moved in. I found a couple of empty Zombrex boxes along with the formula. Really suspicious, huh?"

"Yeah, really suspicious. But they couldn't even leave? What if they wanted to move to another state?"

"Nope. They knew about the outside world and stuff, but no one's allowed to move away unless it's for vacation."

"Jesus..."

"Anyways, we need to get to the wards. Everyone's pretty eager to work on whatever contraption you've come up with."

"What? How do you know about that?"

She smiled. "I like eavesdropping."

Nick rolled his eyes. "You could've just asked, you know."

They entered the ward and found everyone either worrying or arguing. Hide was the only one who was calm.

"Guys! Guys!"

Everyone looked at Penelope.

"I got Nick. We'll all be fine. The mechanic is back in the building."

"What about April?" Asked Hide. "Is she alright?"

"I think so." Nick replied. "She insisted on fighting against the Spec Ops with the others."

In a visible state of uncomfortableness, Hide quickly marched out of the room.

"...well anyway, we can work on whatever Nick has planned to break us out of here. I think I saw some other cars in the basement."

Everyone grunted, but they all went out of the wards and down the stairs.

Penelope was about to follow them when she noticed Nick hanging about.

"What's wrong?" She asked him.

Nick put a finger to his lips, motioning her to be quiet, as he got out his transceiver.

"...April? Are you there?"

After a moment, some crackling came through.

"Nick? Nick, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me! Oh thank fuck." He grinned to himself before turning to serious matters. "Are you okay? Did you beat the Spec Ops?"

"Yeah! Augustus ran off though... I'm saving his defeat for another day. Me and Brad are just looking at some... Some really interesting stuff."

"Is it anything about me?"

"Well, bits of it mention 12."

"Uhh, good bits or bad bits?"

"...I'm honestly not sure what to make of it. It keeps mentioning a cure over and over, and I don't know why."

Nick sighed. "April... Can you go outside for a second? I need to tell you something."

"Okay."

As he waited for her reply, Penelope took a step closer towards him.

Nick glared at her. "You too. Go outside, this is between me and April. And if you DARE eavesdrop I'll kill you with my bare fucking hands."

She stared at him shocked, and then twisted her face into a piercing stare before stomping out and slamming the door shut.

He felt a little bad for her, but he just didn't feel comfortable with other people, except his closest friends or girlfriend, knowing his secret.

"...Nick? I'm outside now." April crackled through. "What's up?"

He took a deep breath. "April. I'm immune, as you know. But... There's more to it than just that."

"Like what?" She asked.

"I'm the cure."

April stayed silent.

"...my blood contains the cure for the zombie virus..." He went on. "That's why the ZDC are hunting me down. That's why they call me 12." He paused for a second. "...that's why they wanted my blood, April."

There was no reply. Nick waited as patiently as he could. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke into the device again.

"April? Are you still there?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Her voice sounded shocked, but Nick could also sense some anger in her speech.

"I didn't know how you'd react. It's kind of a big thing to take in, you know?"

"That's why my Dad was so cautious of you..."

"Huh?"

"A few months ago, a guy called Dick came to hide out in our house. Told us to be wary of some guy claiming to be the cure for the zombie parasite."

"Oh shit..." Nick whispered.

"Both me and my Dad took that warning seriously. Dick told him a bit more but I wasn't really paying attention. Guess he was mentioning the fact that his name's Nick and he's a fucking mechanic."

"Don't listen to him, April. Dick's a jackass. He ran off when the ZDC was cornering us left and right, instead of staying there and fighting with us."

"Well he was right about you being the cure. Who knows what else he got on point?"

"Are you seriously pissed off with me?"

"What, with the fact that you kept things in the dark for longer than needed?" She scoffed. "Yeah! I'm kind of pissed off with you for doing that!"

After a moment, she sighed.

"...Sorry. I'm just tired of secrets and shit, you know? All I want is someone to be open and honest with me about what's going on. Not ask me to solve this riddle, or put this puzzle together, or any of that bullshit."

"Yeah..."

"You alright?"

"Yeah. I just need to get going now."

"Shit, did I upset you?"

"No it's nothing to do with you, don't worry."

"Nick I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. I'll be fine... I'll see you later."

"Nick don't go... Nick-" Some crackling cut him off from her.

April frowned at her transceiver. She was still at the camp with Brad and the others.

"Fuck my life..." She muttered. "Can't I just go back to the days when Goldy was using me as a punching bag? Yeah, they were crap, but at least it was easier to process and understand."

A figure approached her from behind.

"Oh. I see you're still around."

April spun round. "Oh, hi Axel."

Axel pointed at her transceiver. "So who have you been talking to? Your Hispanic friend?"

"Yeah... He told me some stuff."

"I see." He replied.

April couldn't help noticing that he looked quite eager.

"What is it? Do you want to tell me something as well?"

"...can we just take a walk? I feel like I need to apologise for some things."

"Just let me go tell Brad first. Then we'll talk, alright?"

"Yes, of course."

After a few minutes in the building, April came walking back out.

"Alright, all set."

Axel went outside the gates of what used to be April's school. She followed beside him.

Once they were far enough away, April decided to start a conversation.

"So... What do you need to tell me? Can't be bigger than Nick's secret, surely."

"Well it depends on what Nick's "secret" was. Anything to do with whatever he was hooked up to, by any chance?"

"Yeah... I guess you could say that. I feel it'd be rude to share it though."

"Fair enough."

They walked for ages until they got to a square.

"Wait a minute, this is the same place you..." She looked at him.

He didn't answer her. His back was turned to her.

April blinked at him. "...you're not going to reveal that you're my real father or anything, are you?"

Axel laughed bitterly. "God help me if my child grew up to be as intolerable as you."

They stood in silence for a very long time.

April took a step closer to him. "Why do you always wear shades?"

He turned his head towards her.

"I've never seen you without them. It's like you're scared someone will recognise you."

"Scared? No, not scared. I just want to stay out of someone's life."

"Can you take them off?"

Axel stared at her, disgusted.

"Just for a second. Come on, I'm really curious!" She begged.

Though his shades were too thick to see his eyes, April could tell he was rolling them.

"Only if you take off your hat."

"The fuck? Why my hat?"

"An accessory for an accessory. Besides, fedoras look ridiculous on you."

"Oh, thanks for being honest." She said sarcastically. But she still took it off and placed it on the ground beside her. "Okay, your turn."

Axel paused for a moment. It was as if something was trying to stop him from removing them. But he soon overcame it. He swiftly removed them with his hand, and let his arm go limp and fall to his hip.

April looked at them for a moment. It wasn't long before that feeling came back again, that immovable lump in her throat. She felt a small chill go up her spine as more and more questions bubbled in her mind.

It took a few swallows for her to be able to speak.

"W-Who... Who the fuck... Are you?" She managed to get out.

Axel had bright green eyes. They would look normal to anyone else. But April knew these eyes too well.

"They're just eyes..." He began.

"NO. Don't you dare fucking lie to me! Who the FUCK are you?"

He sighed. "I didn't want to have to relive this again... But very well, I'll tell you."

April watched him in silence.

"You probably don't remember me very well. But... I used to live here, until my house burned down."

She stared at him wide eyed. "Y-You don't mean the one down Ferendell Avenue, do you?"

"I do." He said grimly.

Everything around April had disappeared. There was only her, and the frightening memories of the flames destroying whatever laid in its path. April liked to think she could take on anything with enough willpower or strength. But when she was faced with something or someone she couldn't destroy, not only was she scared, she felt weak and powerless.

She forced herself to find her voice. "A-Axel... Axel, I'm really sorry for-"

"It wasn't you."

"...What?" She whispered. "But I remember dropping the match and then..." She strained her memory, but it was no good. All she could remember was dropping the flaming match, and then everything was on fire. What happened in the middle was a blank.

"You honestly think I'd be so careless as to let the carpet burn?" He shook his head. "No April, I stomped it out and then took you into the kitchen."

"So... If it wasn't me, then who set fire to the place?"

"I'm not sure who exactly. All I know is they were a Phenotrans Agent. They burned down my house then pinned it on me to anger my dad, that way I'd run off and join the military. They obviously saw the same destruction in me that he had." He crossed his arms and bit his lip. "My wife also died that day."

She suddenly remembered. "You said earlier that they lied about something to do with your wife."

"They told me she died in the blaze, and I believed them. But that's all changed now that I know what really happened. I found some files." He had trouble saying the next sentence. He couldn't even say the first word without his voice wobbling. "T-They... They..." He swallowed, a tear managed to escape and crawl down his cheek. "They shot her. With no mercy. They knew I would join them for redemption if I lost something dear to me. My wife and my unborn child... How old would that child be if they were alive today? God, I don't even know..." He furiously rubbed his eyes in frustration, angry that he was actually crying in front of someone.

As he tried to compose himself, April noticed a gold ring glinting on Axel's ring finger.

She put her hand on his comfortingly.

He withdrew it from her grasp.

"I don't need your sympathy."

April blinked. "...Are you sure? Because you sure look like you need a lot of sympathy right now."

"No. I'm fine." He sniffled.

After a moment, April spoke again.

"Axel, it's okay if you want a hug or anything, you know. I won't laugh at you."

"I told you, I don't need your sympathy." He replied harshly. "God, April, you really think you can make all my pain go away with just a hug?"

"No, but it can make you feel better."

Axel stayed quiet.

"...you know what, April?" He asked. "At this point, I'd rather be something minor and insignificant. Something that doesn't have problems, or that can't have problems. Like a star, for instance." He looked up at the darkening sky.

A single star shined in the pale blue night. Below, the sky glowed a deep red as it bade farewell to the sun.

"The world doesn't care about anyones problems." Axel continued. "Have you ever had someone you love die? It all ends the same. The person is in shock, but the world around them continues to move. It never stops moving, even when the only thing that mattered has been taken away from you. And if the world doesn't care, why bother burdening them with my problems? There's no point holding a show if there's no audience, or a conversation if there's no one to lend an ear."

"...you've never talked to anyone about your problems? No one at all?"

"No. What's the bloody point?"

"It's just not good to carry all that emotional baggage by yourself."

She expected him to scoff at her, but instead just he looked at her.

"I don't want to find another person to share my emotional baggage with." He replied solemnly.

If Nick was solitary, then Axel was on his own planet. April couldn't imagine what he must have gone through to come to the conclusion that no one cared about him. She almost wanted to hug him, but she knew that he'd just push her away.

"I need to go now." Axel finally said, hastily slipping his shades back on.

"Where?"

"As of now, I'm on my own. I have to find my own way out of here and find a new employer."

"Oh, I see. Well..." She looked like she wanted to say something else, but shook her head. "...Goodbye then, Axel."

"Goodbye."

He started walking off, but then stopped.

"...say hi to Dad for me."

April felt her heart stop. She blinked several times as she tried to process what she heard.

"...w...what?"

He hastily walked off.

"N-No, wait!" She suddenly found her voice again and followed him. "Axel! Axel, are you my broth-"

With no hesitation, he produced a smoke bomb and threw it on the ground.

"HEY!" She coughed and waved her arm to clear the smoke. By the time it had cleared, he was gone.

April was lost in a trance. So much information had been fed to her, she just wanted to lie down or take a nap.

"April?" A voice called.

She snapped out of it and spun round. "Oh, hi Brad."

Brad Park came running up to her. "Are you okay? You looked zoned out."

"It's just some stuff that Axel told me... Kind of blew my mind to be honest."

"I see... Well, we've cleared out the camp and recovered some documents." He slipped a file into her hand. "You might want to see this."

She nodded. "Thanks, I'll read it later."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, the Spec Ops liberated the church. We've moved to Sains. Co, the office building." He explained.

"Shit... Did everyone make it?"

"Come on, I'll tell you more on the way there."

While they drove back, Brad filled April in on the details. After he had finished, April couldn't think of what to say. Nothing came to her mind other than shock and guilt. She wished she had been faster in saving Nick.

"I can't believe they found us that quickly..." She shook her head in disbelief.

"The remaining survivors are at Sains. Co. They're currently working on something-"

"What's the point!?" She cried. "They'll find us again eventually and kill the rest of us!"

"April, we must be optimistic."

She stared out the window, and started rhythmically rocking back and forth.

"...shouldn't have said that to him... Shouldn't have said that to him... Shouldn't have said that to him!" She mumbled to herself in a panic stricken state.

Brad stared in bewilderment at her. But there wasn't much he could do. Any attempts to comfort her were just ignored.

Once they returned to Sains. Co. April had calmed down a little. She was still paranoid, but at least she wasn't mumbling to herself frantically anymore.

They walked down to the basement where Penelope and the others were setting up something.

"Oh, April, Brad." Penelope said upon noticing them. "What happened with the big battle?"

"We managed to kill some Spec Ops, but Mr Ashton escaped." Replied Brad.

"Well, that's a bummer. But let's not worry about him right now, I doubt he could hold his own against the zombies."

"Where's Nick?" April asked, scanning the survivors. "Shouldn't he be here fixing up the car too?"

"He came down for a second after coming off the transceiver with you. Looked really down. Then he told me he was going to take a nap and went back upstairs. He's been gone for nearly an hour."

"Oh no... He's upset because I acted like a bitch towards him." She sighed. "I need to apologise."

"Well, he's upstairs. Probably in the staff lounge, I don't know, just anywhere he could sleep."

She thanked her and headed upstairs.

She opened the door to the lounge and went inside. The TV was on, showing the headlines for today. She searched high and low but couldn't find Nick.

Eventually her search led her to the rooftop.

It was a cold autumn night. The bitter winds chilled April's skin. She put her arms around herself and shivered.

She quickly noticed Nick in front of her looking down at the city, he had a blanket around him.

"N-Nick?" Her teeth started chattering. "Jesus, how is it this cold in September?"

The noise made Nick turn around.

"April! Fucking hell... What are you doing up here, you'll catch a cold!"

"I was trying to find you." She explained.

He lifted the blanket. "Quickly, get under here before you freeze to death."

She ran under the blanket and huddled up to Nick.

"Penelope told me you were taking a nap, and I really wanted to apologise for being a jerk earlier, so I looked for you all over the building. I couldn't find you in any of the rooms so I decided to look up here." She said. "I'm really sorry for acting like that. You were right, it was a lot to take in."

"It's okay." Replied Nick. "I told Penelope I was napping, so that she wouldn't eavesdrop on me, and then came up here. Really fucking annoys me when she does that..."

"Maybe she's had stuff kept from her in the past and has had to make eavesdropping a hobby because of it."

"Maybe."

They looked over the edge of the building to see zombies loitering below.

"What happened to your hat?"

"Hm? Oh." April touched her head. "I must've left it in the plaza. Axel told me to take it off. Said it looked ridiculous on me."

"It looked fine, but I think you look better with it off."

"Me too. Besides, I get to let my hair out."

They stayed silent for a moment.

"Did Los Perdidos look like this?" Asked April, taking in the sights of the city.

"Oh, no, it was much bigger."

"Do you ever miss it?"

"Depends. I don't miss the city itself, but I do miss being safe and not having to run everywhere."

"Well... Out of interest, where would you have recommended?"

"Uhh..." Nick scratched his head. "I guess Sunset Hills. That's where a lot of the entertainment shit was."

"Honestly, I would've preferred to go to where you worked originally."

Nick looked at her.

"Just to look around."

"There wasn't really anything there..." He laughed. "Just a few cars and some coffee Rhonda always left on the desk. You sure you wouldn't want to go to Sunset Hills?"

"No. I don't like crowded places. I'd just be happy sitting in the garage and just looking around, or watching you fix a car, or something."

"Wow, uhh, I never really found fixing cars riveting enough to watch, but okay."

"What? I like to see how everything works, and I like hanging out with you."

"Oh, well I obviously haven't bored you yet." He said jokingly.

"Come on, what ISN'T interesting about mechanics? I like to see how the pistons work, and the four stroke cycle, and all that stuff."

"You know a bit about cars then?"

"It's interesting to me. I always used to leaf through some car manuals my Dad brought home. He told me that mechanics were useful and one of the best survivors to have." She brushed a stray hair out of her eyes. "...so, you're the cure."

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, I honestly didn't know how you'd react."

"It's fine. It's not the craziest thing I've heard." She laid her head on her elbow. "So, what happened in Los Perdidos?"

"Jesus Christ... April, you know this is a sensitive subject for me to talk about."

"Come on, you've told me your big secret, you might as well tell me what happened with Annie's ex and all that."

Nick crossed his arms and looked away.

"Please? You don't have to talk about what happened with Diego."

He looked back at her with seriousness. "Some of it is pretty fucked up."

"I'm fine with fucked up, hit me with it."

He shook his head and mumbled something. "Alright. I guess I could tell you what happened in Los Perdidos."

April couldn't help feeling giddy. "Yes!" She eagerly waited for him to start.

"Well... It all began when I ran to this tunnel to try and find a way out. There were these caged zombies further in and..." And from there, Nick told her almost everything that happened in his time in Los Perdidos (he didn't want to talk about Diego's death again for obvious reasons). He told her about the crazy man in the Zen Gardens who babbled philosophical nonsense and then tried to kill him, how he discovered he was immune by noticing that his wound was healing itself, how Hilde ordered her men to kill an injured woman and then snapped the neck of her husband, how he defeated a very muscular woman whom he had called a man mistakingly, and how he fought Hemlock fist to fist only to come out victorious.

April gasped, laughed, blinked, stared, grimaced, gagged, and nodded, but kept quiet throughout with only small comments and questions every now and then.

"...so she couldn't even get out of her mobility scooter? And she..." April shivered. "She threw up everywhere?"

"Yeah." He answered. "She died choking on her own vomit."

"Oh my god..." April felt like vomiting herself.

"Like I said, pretty fucked up."

The door leading back inside burst open.

April and Nick turned their attention towards it, only to find Penelope standing there.

"Jesus... Nick, I thought you were napping!" She said.

"I woke up." Nick replied, with a small smirk at April.

"Right. Well, now that you two have reunited, do you mind helping out downstairs? We could use it."

They nodded and followed her down.

"You are going to tell me the rest of it, right?" April whispered.

"Of course. I can't just leave you in suspense." Nick whispered back.

They both giggled and kept walking.

 **End of Chapter 14**


End file.
